Nick Kyrgios addresses claims he doesn't work hard enough and is 'wasting his talent'
Nick Kyrgios responded after receiving a reality check about his talent.
Nick Kyrgios wants to dispel suggestions that he is “wasting his talent” after receiving a reality check from Patrick Mouratoglou.
Serena Williams’ ex-coach appeared on the latest episode of Kyrgios’ Good Trouble podcast and told the former Wimbledon finalist that he had “the syndrome of a talented player”.
But Kyrgios is trying to lose that reputation and he explained that he was one of the hardest workers growing up.
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The former world No. 13 has been without a coach for the majority of his career. But in conversation with Mouratoglou, he asked: “What would you tell me?” And the Frenchman gave Kyrgios an answer he had never heard before.
“I feel you have what I call the syndrome of the talented player. And I'm going to explain what I mean by that,” the current coach of Holger Rune started. “So probably since you're a kid, everyone says to you that you're very talented. So now it's part of you. It's part of your identity to be talented.
“And the question is, for someone like you is, are you prepared to potentially lose a piece of your identity, to be talented, to be a champion, but you're not sure be you'll be a champion.” Mouratoglou explained that, by his logic, it meant that Kyrgios was too afraid to try.
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He continued: “So that's exactly I think the battle that is inside you is do I take the risk to lose my identity as a talented player? Because if I really try it, I don't make it, maybe I'm not talented. That's a big risk and it's tough. And I understand that, that battling inside, I've worked with other talented players. I've worked with Grigori, for example, who's been told also the same.”
The 53-year-old also thought that Kyrgios’ on-court antics were typical of a player with his talent. “And all these bad attitudes, I mean, what people call bad attitudes, tanking matches, not fighting, not working or not working really fully, doing things halfway. Are if you look at the players who do that, it's only talented players,” he added.
“And that's the reason why. Because in a way they keep their identity as being talented. whereas if they do everything right and it doesn't work, maybe they lose it.” His comments took Kyrgios by surprise, as the 29-year-old revealed that his natural ability didn’t stop him from putting the work in.
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“Interesting, interesting. I've never heard this before. When people say, you know, you're talented and you haven't had to work as hard, I look back at my journey and I think I was one of the hardest workers in the academy when we were here in Melbourne,” he replied.
“I was here like five, six hours a day, two sessions, gym, and I felt like I was a harder worker than most of the people in here. I think just obviously what I did off the court didn't show that, you know, to the fans and you know how I am, you know, in general, I'm very relaxed. I don't take myself too seriously.”
It’s a label that Kyrgios wants to shed, as he opened up on the messages he received on social media. He added: “So, I think [they think], Oh, he doesn't work hard. But I feel like when I'm on court, you know, I'm working pretty hard. So, I would like to lose that. I don't like going around and only people thinking, Oh, he's just one of the most talented players ever. I still have to deal with it. I go on social media, it's like, Oh, he's a waste of talent. It’s like, I don't want to have that title. But it's definitely, an interesting way to think about it. I've never thought about it that way before.”
