“He’s done it again, fellas!”
The previous sentence is one of the most overused phrases by sports commentators. Usually, they use it to refer to a renowned athlete performing at an outstanding level for the umpteenth time. For instance, Tom Brady orchestrating a fourth quarter comeback drive, David Ortiz smashing a walk-off home run, or Kobe Bryant nailing a buzzer beater.
Unfortunately, when the pronoun “he” is replacing the noun “Nick Kyrgios,” the aforementioned cliché often entails the Australian has come up short of expectations.
Colossal upset by Millman
Indeed, Kyrgios was ousted out of the US Open in the very first round by his compatriot John Millman 6-3 1-6 6-4 6-1. The Brisbane native, a career journeyman who is currently ranked No. 235 in the world, had never won a main draw singles match at Flushing Meadows.
The 22-year-old requested a medical timeout late in the match due to an ailing shoulder, but this should not mask a bigger issue that has impeded him from making the leap to the ATP Top 10: his lackadaisical approach against allegedly overmatched foes, regardless of the tournament.
During the press conference following his win over world No. 1 Rafael Nadal in Cincinnati, Kyrgios mentioned how hard it is for him to get motivated for low profile matches. For example, his loss to Nicolás Kicker at the Lyon ATP 250 in front of 20 people in the stands. Knowing the mercurial Aussie, you learn to cope with those setbacks. However, his 2017 results prove his struggles against inferior opposition stretch beyond the humble tournaments.
Poor performance at all slams in 2017
Let’s take a look at the four Majors of the season. At the Australian Open, Kyrgios demolished Gastao Elias and Andreas Seppi for four sets and a half, only to succumb to the veteran Italian in the second round. He blamed his poor conditioning in the offseason. At Roland Garros, he survived Philip Kohlschreiber and looked on track to upend Kevin Anderson, but he suffered a severe meltdown midway through the second set and never recovered. At Wimbledon he bowed out in the first round to doubles specialist Pierre-Hugues Herbert, citing injury. None of these matches were played on outside courts. Kyrgios enjoys VIP treatment when it comes to scheduling at the Slams.
Fast forward less than two months and Kyrgios completed a dismal 2017 campaign in the Majors with his defeat at the hands of an unheralded countryman at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
The break point at 3-4 in the first set is a fitting summary of the match. Kyrgios charged the net, Millman managed to hit a lob barely over the 14th seed’s head and… here comes the unnecessary tweener that leads to a break-conceding backhand error.
And the rest is history.
“He did it again, fellas!”
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