The outspoken Australian made his debut as a television analyst this week. It’s perhaps no surprise that he excels in his new role
Nick Krygios, pundit? King Kyrgios: the player who’s been criticized and psychoanalyzed more than anyone else on the ATP Tour today; who’s become almost the dictionary definition of the “divisive tennis star”; whose career has been defined as much by his battles with the media as the men’s Top 10. The villain, the bad boy, the ingrate, the brat. To imagine him putting aside a decade of beef to step behind the mic and assume the honeyed role of the tennis analyst seems faintly incongruous. Yet here he is, in half-profile from his spot on the Tennis Channel set, hands in pockets, relaxed, laughing and joking with Brett Haber and Jim Courier like an old media pro. He’s wearing a dark jacket and a lilac T-shirt. The match comments are delivered with fluent authority. The cadence of panel chat comes easily to him: like a good baseliner, he knows when to step in and when to stay back. His hair looks nice. It turns out Kyrgios is pretty much the same on set as he is on court: rattlingly opinionated, and endlessly entertaining. Nick Kyrgios, pundit: why not?
Alone with Novak Djokovic, the Australian star is the player that every tennis fan today must have an opinion on. I’ll state mine up front: I love the guy. Yes, he’s sometimes obnoxious on court (no more so than many others at the top of tennis, mind you), and his digs against other players can cut deep. But whether he’s cruising or crashing, the man is compulsively watchable. He has opinions, and – unlike many other players on tour today – the courage to express them. He coaches himself, which makes him an exceptionally shrewd observer of the sport. Most importantly, he has a celestial gift for hitting a small fluorescent ball around a court.
