John McEnroe has used his pulpit as a US Open television commentator to slam the attitude of Nick Kyrgios, advising the quirky Australian to leave the game if he’s not interested in competing all-out.
The current bad boy of the ATP retired after the third set with hip flexor pain in his third-round match against Illya Marchenko; it was his third pullout since January.
McEnroe let rip after the latest episode. “Nick Kyrgios, if you don’t want to be a professional tennis player, do something else,” McEnroe said. “He’s hurt because he’s not training enough.”
Kyrgios, 21, and ranked 16th, had made no secret of the fact that he’s not 100 per cent on board with tennis and predicted he will not be seen in the sport by age 28. He also has trouble finding practice time while dedicating himself to playing Pokeman Go.
Kyrgios was he felt he’d been “hit by a bus” in his latest incomplete match: “I can’t move. I can’t turn, mate,” he said during an injury time out. “What’s the point?”
Kyrgios seems unlikely to give up his tennis gig anytime soon, saying that he felt bad about failing to complete the match.
“I don’t like to retire. It’s probably like the second or third time I’ve done it. It’s never easy, of course. I’ve got a lot of belief in my game to still win matches when I’m not feeling great,” he said.
“My hip was bothering me my first two matches and I got through. I guess it was just a matter of time.”
The Kyrgios availability for the Davis Cup World Group playoff this his month against Slovakia in Sydney might be in doubt, but that will be determined down the track.
“I don’t really care right now, to be honest. Hopefully I get better in time. Obviously I want to play but I’m not really thinking about that right now,” he said.
Kyrgios also added some advice to himself after the pullout “I’ve got to take more time and be more diligent with gym and everything so this doesn’t happen to me.”