Sports + special correspondent Eric reports
Kyrgios of the Cincinnati Masters showed everyone how terrible he was when he got serious, and the total score of 5 wins and 3 losses against the Fernard Big Three showed his talent and strength, but for a long time, the Australian boy was labeled more as "bad boy", "not motivated", "waste of talent"...
It is true that in the attitude to tennis, which belongs to his job, Kyrgios's approach is not suitable for all young people to set an example, but to judge that Kyrgios is not motivated to criticize him as a whole may not be fair to the Australian boy.
In fact, combined with Kyrgios's many post-match interviews and some of his actions on the field, the Australian's three views are quite positive, and he is a big boy who is very fond of his family.
After Cincinnati beat Nadal, many people mentioned the talent of Kyrgios, believing that as long as he puts 100% of his energy into tennis, sooner or later he will become the next king. When asked this question, Kyrgios's answer was quite unexpected: "I think that whether it is the world's no. 1 or the world's no. 500, they are all tennis players in the end, and I don't really want to be remembered as a 'tennis player with incredible achievements', I want to be remembered as a good person or a useful person." 」 ”
In the past, Kyrgios had behaved disrespectfully of his opponents, and now this has been completely improved. After Cincinnati lost to Dimitrov, Kyrgios greatly appreciated his opponent, "I was convinced by the loss to him, he played incredible tennis." In Montreal, I trained with him after the game, he practiced for an hour and a half without doing anything and I was sweating and struggling, what do I have to complain about losing to such a guy? ”
When someone complains that the life of a tennis player is not easy, Kyrgios said: "Compared to becoming popular, there are actually many worse things in this world that deserve attention, we have received enough attention and blessings, our voices have been heard, go to some places in Africa to see, especially those places where water can't be drunk, and then you will know what is really difficult to live." 」 ”
From the problem teenager of the past to the maturity and stability of today, Kyrgios is silently making changes. Perhaps the death of his grandparents changed his attitude towards life dramatically, and after Cincinnati's semi-final victory over Ferrer, he wrote down the age of his grandparents in front of the camera, wishing the two old men rest in peace in heaven. After the victory over Nadal, he wrote "Barcelona" in front of the camera and painted it with love to express his condolences to those killed in Barcelona.
Whether or not Kyrgios eventually grows into a great tennis legend, at least for now, he's a good guy. This turning point in his attitude towards life may be a turning point in his tennis career.