In the wake of his combustible second round Wimbledon victory over Juan Monaco, let’s pause to reflect on how the media view young Australian Nick Kyrgios.
“No fear and a golden arm”, a “free spirit and irresistible power” says Kevin Mitchell in these pages. “Game and confidence-wise, Kyrgios has it all” say others. Even Prime Minister Tony Abbott weighed in: “Australia couldn’t be prouder of you”.
The only catch? All these quotes come from a year ago, when Kyrgios’ blistering serve and rifled forehands were enough to impress us, before anyone had found the time to pick at the seams on his Nike shirts and before he’d been around long enough to take issue with authority figures in the way that youngsters tend to.