MensHealth
  • News
  • Health
  • Fitness
  • Sex
  • Nutrition
  • Style
  • Weight Loss
  • Life
  • Podcasts
  • Subscribe
  • Motoring
  • Video
MensHealth
  • News
  • Health
  • Fitness
  • Sex
  • Nutrition
  • Style
  • Weight Loss
  • Life
  • Podcasts
  • Subscribe
  • Motoring
  • Video
Bjornsson Deadlifted 1,026 pounds On The Elephant Bar To Win 2020 Arnold Classic
Watch 0:10

Bjornsson Deadlifted 1,026 pounds On The Elephant Bar To Win 2020 Arnold Classic

{headline}

{headline}

How Stan Wawrinka Stays At The Top Of His Game

How Stan Wawrinka Stays At The Top Of His Game

Who Is John Millman, The Man Who Toppled Federer?

Who Is John Millman, The Man Who Toppled Federer?

Rafael Nadal Is Bringing This Trend Back To Tennis

Rafael Nadal Is Bringing This Trend Back To Tennis

Andy Murray Details Australian Open Disappointment In Interview

Andy Murray Details Australian Open Disappointment In Interview

{headline}

{headline}

Is Melbourne’s Quarantine To Blame For Spike In Australian Open Player Injuries?

Is Melbourne’s Quarantine To Blame For Spike In Australian Open Player Injuries?

Dylan Alcott Reaches His Seventh Straight Australian Open Final

Dylan Alcott Reaches His Seventh Straight Australian Open Final

Australian Open Qualifier Discovers He Has COVID-19... Midway Through Match

Australian Open Qualifier Discovers He Has COVID-19... Midway Through Match

{headline}

{headline}

At Almost 40 Years Old, Is Roger Federer... Finished?

At Almost 40 Years Old, Is Roger Federer... Finished?

Roger Federer And Rafael Nadal Headline Bushfire Relief Fundraiser

Roger Federer And Rafael Nadal Headline Bushfire Relief Fundraiser

Ash Barty Is The 2019 Sportswoman Of The Year

Ash Barty Is The 2019 Sportswoman Of The Year

Roger Federer Has a Yearly Ritual That Will Break Your Heart

Roger Federer Has a Yearly Ritual That Will Break Your Heart

French Tennis Player's Son Rushes On Court To Console Him After French Open Loss

French Tennis Player's Son Rushes On Court To Console Him After French Open Loss

How To Look The Part For Your Next Game Of Tennis

How To Look The Part For Your Next Game Of Tennis

Mark Philippoussis On The Future of Australian Tennis

Mark Philippoussis On The Future of Australian Tennis

  1. Home
  2. Sport

Why Nick Kyrgios Can’t Win The Australian Open

And we don’t mean just this year. - by Dan Williams
  • 10 Feb 2021
Why Nick Kyrgios Can’t Win The Australian Open

Here we go again. The Australian Open is in full swing. It has now been 45 years since a local man won it. And seasonal tennis fans are wondering whether this could be Nick Kyrgios’ year.

Take it from me: it won’t be.

Kyrgios might make it to the second week, but probably not. If he gets past Ugo Humbert tonight (no certainty – Humbert is the higher-ranked player), his probable third-round opponent is Dominic Thiem, last year’s US Open champ and the world No. 3. That feels like curtains for Kyrgios. But even if it’s not, the end won’t be far away.

Why the pessimism? Why the negativity? Why the need to cut down an emerging champion possessed of such extraordinary talent?

None of those things is the reason I’m writing him off. I’m writing him off because he doesn’t have what it takes to win seven matches in a fortnight.

The flashy stuff Kyrgios brings to the court – the no-look volleys, the tweeners, the drop shots on serve – gets your matches televised and draws gasps from fans who might otherwise have started to feel bored. But it does not win you grand-slam titles.

Grand slams are won by equally gifted players who can maintain a laser focus – not for a few minutes or a few games or a couple of sets, but in seven matches against increasingly lethal opponents.

Kyrgios has reached two grand-slam quarter finals in his career. He made it that far at Wimbledon in 2014 and at the Australian Open the following year. Don’t get me wrong: they’re fine accomplishments. Magnificent. But they’re a long way short of winning a final. 

Over the years, a lot of what Kyrgios has shown us – and a lot of what he’s told us – lead to an inescapable conclusion: he lacks the champion’s work ethic and he lacks the champion’s mind.

Can he develop those things? Maybe. I’ve got my doubts, though. He’s not a kid anymore. He’s 25. He was ranked 13th in the world in 2016. He’s now 47th.

In any given match, as well as the trick shots, you count on Kyrgios serving huge and crunching a bunch of forehands. You can also assume there’ll be periods of sulking, ill temper and compromised application.

That doesn’t make him a failure, a bad person, a disgrace to the game or anything else of the sort. It just makes him a massive long shot at the big events.

Dan Williams
Dan Williams
Dan Williams, Men’s Health’s Associate Editor, is the magazine’s most experienced presence. While his body protests more than it used to, he still insists it honour the MH way, with regular dawn workouts mingled with punishing sessions on the tennis court – all against a backdrop of abstemiousness: he turns into a pumpkin at 10pm.

Subscribe Now-

Subscribe Now
Subscribe Now

Subscribe Now-

Subscribe Now
Subscribe Now

Recommended to you

Bjornsson Deadlifted 1,026 pounds On The Elephant Bar To Win 2020 Arnold Classic
Watch 0:10

Bjornsson Deadlifted 1,026 pounds On The Elephant Bar To Win 2020 Arnold Classic

{headline}

{headline}

How Stan Wawrinka Stays At The Top Of His Game

How Stan Wawrinka Stays At The Top Of His Game

Who Is John Millman, The Man Who Toppled Federer?

Who Is John Millman, The Man Who Toppled Federer?

Rafael Nadal Is Bringing This Trend Back To Tennis

Rafael Nadal Is Bringing This Trend Back To Tennis

Andy Murray Details Australian Open Disappointment In Interview

Andy Murray Details Australian Open Disappointment In Interview

{headline}

{headline}

Is Melbourne’s Quarantine To Blame For Spike In Australian Open Player Injuries?

Is Melbourne’s Quarantine To Blame For Spike In Australian Open Player Injuries?

Dylan Alcott Reaches His Seventh Straight Australian Open Final

Dylan Alcott Reaches His Seventh Straight Australian Open Final

Australian Open Qualifier Discovers He Has COVID-19... Midway Through Match

Australian Open Qualifier Discovers He Has COVID-19... Midway Through Match

{headline}

{headline}

At Almost 40 Years Old, Is Roger Federer... Finished?

At Almost 40 Years Old, Is Roger Federer... Finished?

Roger Federer And Rafael Nadal Headline Bushfire Relief Fundraiser

Roger Federer And Rafael Nadal Headline Bushfire Relief Fundraiser

Ash Barty Is The 2019 Sportswoman Of The Year

Ash Barty Is The 2019 Sportswoman Of The Year

Roger Federer Has a Yearly Ritual That Will Break Your Heart

Roger Federer Has a Yearly Ritual That Will Break Your Heart

French Tennis Player's Son Rushes On Court To Console Him After French Open Loss

French Tennis Player's Son Rushes On Court To Console Him After French Open Loss

How To Look The Part For Your Next Game Of Tennis

How To Look The Part For Your Next Game Of Tennis

Mark Philippoussis On The Future of Australian Tennis

Mark Philippoussis On The Future of Australian Tennis

MensHealth
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Chris Hemsworth Hugo Boss
  • Terms
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Statement
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Chris Hemsworth Hugo Boss
  • Terms
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Statement

Brands

  • Women's Health

Our Network

  • Paragon Media Pty Ltd
© 2021 Are Media PTY LTD
Get more from Men's Health

Magazine Subscription Offer

Subscribe Now-

Shop This Offer
Subscribe Now