Bill Simons
Nick Kyrgios is a tennis savant. No one on court flicks that fuzzy yellow ball quite like he does. The Aussie unleashes inventive winners or power thunderbolts that astonish.
He packs stadiums and ignites the internet big time.
Now the Australian Open anticipates the long-awaited return of their beloved bad boy and prodigal son, who due to a terrible wrist injury has barely played in 30 months. Yes, Krygios reached the Wimbledon final and claimed the Aussie Open doubles championship, but no one else who hasn’t even reached the Top 10 has attracted such a wide audience or had more impact.
The man has more messages than Hallmark. They always have a snappy edge and sometimes they’re harmless enough.
Recently, when asked if he would play with Djokovic in Serbia, he quipped, “If he pays me…I don’t even want to play tennis with Novak…I just want to party. That will go down as the greatest of all time.”
As for Australia’s treatment of Djokovic during the Covid era, Nick said, “We treated him like shit.”
Sadly, along with all his must-watch on-court play and online sizzle, Nick brings a mean streak. Years ago, he told Stan Wawrinka mid-match, “Thanasi Kokkinakis banged your girlfriend.” The taunt drew a $10,000 fine. Following a dispute with Boris Becker, the German told him, “Respect the past.”
During his feud with Rafa, the Spaniard said, “Nick lacks respect for the public, the rival and towards himself.”
And this brings us to Kyrgios’s tedious on-line nine-month vendetta against Jannik Sinner, who’s now dating his former girlfriend, Russian Anna Kalinskaya, who’s No. 14 in the world.
Jannik may have violated a drug rule, but it’s hard to just dismiss the man as a cheat and a fraud. Why would the No. 1 in the world, who has a $150 million Nike deal, knowingly take drugs? Andy Roddick joked that Sinner is “the best player on Earth and worst doper ever.” The Italian comes across as a quiet, dignified and reserved fellow caught in a maelstrom.
After Kyrgios plead guilty in 2023 to a domestic violence charge, he seemed to be asking for compassion when he explained, “I was not in a good place when this took place, and I reacted to a difficult situation in a way I deeply regret. I know it wasn’t OK and I’m sincerely sorry for the hurt I caused. Mental health is tough. Life can seem overwhelming.”
Fair enough – well said. We all make mistakes. Forgiveness is good for the soul.
But when it comes to Sinner, Krygios lets ‘er rip. When word first emerged that Jannik had failed two drug tests, Nick said tennis was cooked. Over time, he added, “Once you get caught, you can’t act like the victim!…I haven’t failed any drug tests. It’s nothing personal…You should be gone for 2 years. Your performance was enhanced. Massage cream….Yeah, nice.”
More recently, Nick has gone after those who’ve defended Sinner, a journalist and a 16-year-old.
After Jon Wertheim reported that ESPN wouldn’t be using Nick on-air during the Aussie Open, he told the journalist, “Zip your mouth.”
Wertheim mused, “This is just a personal vendetta. There’s a woman involved here who also happens to be a player. Sinner has been relentlessly bullied for months and months, and hasn’t responded. He’s also coached by a colleague of ours at ESPN [Darren Cahill]. There’s so much going on here, but it doesn’t seem to have anything to do with bona fide concerns about doping.”
Kyrgios also commented on the Instagram post of Cruz Hewitt, the son of legendary Lleyton Hewitt. The 16-year-old had featured a picture of Sinner and himself during a practice session in Melbourne. Kyrgios responded by sending an image of a drug syringe and the message, “Love ya Cruz but this is wild…Thought we were boys.”
Rennae Stubbs commented, “Making fun of the boy on social media is not a joke. If you want to joke, call him privately.”
There has been no greater critic of Nick recently than Roddick, who said on his Serve podcast, “At this point he is a tennis influencer. He lives for likes, he lives in the comments section…What I have an issue with is the hypocrisy with which he picks and chooses when to levy judgment…Imagine an almost 30-year-old man, going into the comments of a 16-year-old…and make it all about himself…It’s ridiculous.”
Numerous things here are true at once. Nick has not only scored brilliant wins over the likes of Nadal, Federer and Djokovic. Along with McEnroe, Connors, Agassi, Serena and Ilie Nastase, he’s one of the greatest tennis showmen of all time. He brilliantly grasps the essence of sports and tennis. Fans crave dynamic personalities. Plus, Nick’s been kind and generous to many players, and has helped Australia in times of crisis.
But his repeated attacks are not only mean-spirited, they’re destructive. Stubbs observed. “Nick does not know how to contain himself and how to learn to be an adult in these situations.”
READING THE COCO LEAVES: Coco Gauff has been around for five years, but she’s still being carefully scrutinized. And why not? She’s 18-2 since the US Open and won the China Open, the WTA Championships and five straight matches at the United Cup. She at last scored triumphs, two of them over her nemesis Iga Swiatek, and she avenged her painful Wimbledon loss to Donna Vekic and beat Aryna Sabalenka. Gauff’s driving her forehand more than ever, plus it’s smoother. Her often problematic serving has improved. There have been few disastrous service days, like at the US Open – and if there is a small miracle she could be No. 1 at the end of the Aussie Open.
Coco first faces Sofia Kenin, the last American to win the Aussie Open today. While Gauff contended that the key for her now is to just relax, Lindsay Davenport said, “Coco looks confident – she looks like she believes she can win. That’s the most important thing with Gauff. At the US Open, you didn’t get that feeling when you saw her eyes. Let’s see what she looks like when she takes the court in Melbourne.”
MARTINA SAYS ‘IT ALL STINKS:’ Nobody is for doping, but have authorities been overzealous in their pursuit of world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who in March twice tested positive for a trace amount of Clostebol that was less than a billionth of a gram? The World Anti Doping agency has stepped in and indicated they didn’t disagree with the facts of the case, just with the lack of a significant penalty. In any case, there probably will be no ruling until just before the French Open and Wimbledon. The phrase “justice delayed is justice denied” comes to mind. Sinner, who has done an incredible job of compartmentalizing, has thrived on court. In his first Melbourne press conference he said, “I haven’t done anything wrong.” But, he seemed subdued and war weary.
Martina Navratilova said, “It all stinks. The whole system has to be blown up and started again…We’re trying to catch cheaters, not people who had massage cream on their bodies [like Sinner] or took a sleeping pill like they’ve been taking for five years [like Swiatek]”…It’s guilty until you’ve been proven innocent in this. Sinner thought he was done with it and now WADA’s appealing – why? I just don’t get it. There has to be a lot of light shone onto this situation, because we just need to get a better system.”
THE BEST PLAYER TO NEVER WIN A SLAM BLAMES THE UMPS: Olympic gold medalist Alexander Zverev, who’s no. 2 in the world, says he just wants to win his first Grand Slam ever. Sunday the ever-improving 27-year-old prevailed in his first round match over France’s Lucas Pouille, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. The German is, more than Tony Roche and Marcelo Rios, is the best player ever to never have won a major, but he has a perplexing record of losing leads at crunch time. Jason Goodall said, “It’s one thing to want it, it’s another thing to know how to go about it.”
Zverev, who overcame a wretched ankle injury in 2022, twice has reached the Aussie Open semis, and has been a finalist at the French and US Opens. Rennae Stubbs said, “He has a scar tissue…when it comes to mentally falling apart in the biggest matches of any player on tour.” And Jon Wertheim noted that in the heat of an on-court meltdown in October Sascha blamed the umps for his losses. Turning to the chair umpire in Shanghai, he said, “Every Grand Slam final that I played, I lose because of you guys.”
ALL QUIET ON THE AUSSIE FRONT: Like the French Open, the Australian Open is now a 15-day tourney. But Sunday was rainy, and one of the most uneventful opening days in memory.
SINNER DOPING HEARING SET: In the short run, it seems that Jannik Sinner is lucky. After a tricky first round against Chilean Nicolas Jarry, he has a fairly easy draw and won’t have to face Carlos Alcaraz or Novak Djokivic until the final. But, in the long run, his fans say he’s unlucky. The World Anti-Doping Agency is challenging a decision last year by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) not to suspend Sinner for what it judged was accidental contamination by a banned steroid last March..
Now the Court of Arbitration for Sport has scheduled a closed door hearing for April 16-17 in Lausanne, Switzerland. It might take a month or so for them to make a decision, and, if Sinner is suspended for 60-90 days, as some imagine, he might not play the French Open or even Wimbledon.
THE LIFE OF REILLY: Reilly Opelka, who was once No. 17 in the world, suffered hip and wrist injuries and a botched surgery and was sidelined for more than two years. His ranking dropped to 293. But early in January in Brisbane, he scored the shock win of the year when he downed the GOAT, Novak Djokovic, before going on to beat the feared young Frenchman, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. But then in the final, he had to withdraw due to a lingering back injury.
In Melbourne, he conceded that his back was still an issue. One of the most dangerous unseeded players in the draw again sported his trademark pink hat and Fila shoes, and overpowered the Belgian qualifier Gauthier Onclin 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-2. The beneficiary of a good draw, Opelka will next play Czech Tomas Machac.
NOT SO EVEN STEPHENS: The 2017 US Open champ and 2018 French Open finalist Sloane Stephens had a nightmare draw at the AO this year. In the first round she fell, 6-3, 6-2, to top-seed Aryna Sabalenka for the fifth time. The 31-year-old former Fresno resident has won just one match in her last four Slams.
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS: Twelve players with Californian connections made it to the Australian Open singles main draw: Nishesh Basavarredy (Stanford), Tristan Boyer, Jenson Brooksby, Taylor Fritz, Marcos Giron, Yannik Hanfmann (USC), Iva Jovic, Alex Michelsen, Brandon Nakashima, Mayar Sherif (Pepperdine), Learner Tien and Katie Volynets.
