Nick Kyrgios: How far is he from cracking the code?

They say a man without discipline is like a ship without a rudder.

Despite the lack of discipline, Nick Kyrgios, one of the brightest prospects in men’s tennis today, has managed to stay afloat with the backing of his immense talent. Although he has strayed on numerous occasions that have cost him matches and earned him deserved brickbats from the media and tennis fraternity, he slowly seems to be finding his foothold in the race of the gen-next of tennis.

Kyrgios has come a long way since he shot to the limelight in 2014, when he beat Rafael Nadal in four sets at Wimbledon. As a 19-year-old wild card, he displayed some exceptional shot making and fearless tennis in his annihilation of Nadal. He gatecrashed the elite of the Tennis World and announced his arrival as the ‘next big thing’.

Kyrgios’ career has only gone north since that memorable match, but not without its fair share of glitches.

The young Australian has always admired the great Roger Federer and has claimed that he is the greatest role model one could ever have on and off court. Kyrgios prevailed over Federer in the Madrid Masters last year, their only showdown till date, in a tough three-set battle. In the post-match conference, the Swiss Maestro heaped praises on the young Australian’s repertoire.

Federer complimented Kyrgios for his phenomenal serve and potential. He said,” I hope he keeps working hard and that he can compete for the best spots in tennis. He likes the big stage. He’s got nothing to lose, no fear, and he’s got a great game. He can rely on his serve so much. It keeps him in the match regardless of how he plays from the baseline.”

The Swiss also added a very important observation in his assessment of Kyrgios. “All he needs to do is to string a few good shots, a few good points together when it really matters," he had then said.

Hopefully, Kyrgios took note of those words of wisdom from the 17 time Grand Slam Champion. Or hasn’t he yet?

Kyrgios’ trysts with controversy

Neon pink headphones, funky hair and his flashy tennis set him apart from the rest of the rising stars of men’s tennis, who are all more subdued.

Kyrgios, a former Junior World No.1, seemed to make the transition to the senior circuit quite well. However, the young gun has a penchant for controversy. At the 2015 Rogers Cup, the Australian was caught sledging Swiss No. 4 Stan Wawrinka. The microphones picked up the distasteful words uttered by Kyrgios and sent twitterati into overdrive.

While his fellow players expressed anger and anguish over his unprofessional behavior, the ATP handed him a 28-day suspension from the tour. His role model, Federer, did not mince any words in admonishing Kyrgios and said that ‘he had crossed the line by a long shot’.

The Wawrinka sledging episode remains his biggest controversy till date; his behaviour on court still is far from palatable and affects his focus on the game.

It also makes him reminiscent of some notorious, but immensely successful names in the history of the sport....

Will he be the McEnroe or Tarango of modern day tennis?

John McEnroe had a reputation for reprehensible conduct on court. From calling the chair umpire ‘pits of the world’ to ‘jerk’, this man has said it all. An immensely talented player, McEnroe went on win multiple Grand Slams in both the Singles and the Doubles disciplines of the sport. However, his reputation for being a cantankerous player lives on with him till date.

Most well-known is his “you cannot be serious!” incident, but he's had many more.

Jeff Tarango, another player known for his notorious behavior, went down in history for his infamous incident at Wimbledon in 1995. Following an altercation with the umpire, he walked out of the match and his wife ended up physically assaulting the umpire.

In the countdown of the worst ever tirades that attracted hefty fines, both McEnroe and Tarango have their names deeply etched in the list. At the US Open in 1987, McEnroe was punished with a $ 17,500 fine and a 2 month ban for venting his anger at the umpire.

Tarango’s bad temper, on the other hand, attracted a $ 63,000 fine for calling the umpire ‘corrupt’.

Kyrgios is on a similar path and at 20, treading this path does no good to his chances.

He is definitely more talented than Tarango. However, with this attitude, he may not achieve the greatness of McEnroe as the field these days is fraught with hard working and ambitious players, a sight that was probably rare in the 80’s.

Out-grinding the baseliners, especially on clay

Kyrgios has a great record on the hard courts and his game is suited for grass. He is yet to make any significant forays on clay. Barring a finals berth at Estoril last year where he lost to Richard Gasquet, Kyrgios has not been able to make deep runs on clay.

After Federer lost to Kyrgios at the Madrid Open last year, he drew some similarities between Kyrgios and himself. Federer said, “I think both of us probably also needed sometime when we were younger to figure out our games. We have a lot of possibilities in terms of our shot selection. To hit the right shot at the right time is something that for us comes a bit more difficult than a steady baseliner who is just happy to rally. We prefer to do other things out there. That’s why Kyrgios might take a few more years to really crack the code.”

Federer, who lost his cool quite often as a teenager, knows what it takes to traverse the path of mastery. Impeccable discipline and focus helped him tame his anger and the result is there for all of us to witness.

Kyrgios has a mammoth challenge at hand.

He has had a very successful run this year. His maiden ATP title at Marseille, where he beat the 2014 US Open Champion Marin Cilic, and his Semi Final appearances at the Dubai Open and the ongoing Miami Open, Kyrgios is all set to break into the top 20 for the very first time in his career. He will be the youngest top 20 player in seven years.

But how long can he hang in there?

Is tennis Kyrgios’ passion?

Amongst his many eyebrow raising statements and one-liners, Kyrgios sent the tennis world into a tizzy when he said that he loves basketball more than tennis. He said that his parents pushed him into playing tennis, “I don’t really like the sport of tennis that much. I don’t love it.”

This statement casts a shadow of doubt on his longevity and relevance in the sport.

Andre Agassi, in his autobiography ‘Open’, talked about how he hated tennis. Despite that, he still went on to win eight Grand Slams.

Can Kyrgios do the same?

Over time he may manage to steer clear of controversies and improve further on his tennis prowess. But if he lacks passion and discipline, he will have to face insurmountable challenges in ‘cracking the code’.

It is this unpredictable nature of his that makes him an exciting prospect for tennis.