Ken Rosewall Says Lack of Practice May Affect Nick Kyrgios at Aussie Open
Tennis – Australian tennis legend says that the lack of off-season practice for could come back to hurt his chances at the Australian Open if the Aussie youngster gets into long matches or into the later part of the tournament.
Kyrgios failed to defend his title at the ATP Brisbane International and said he barely practised during the off-season as he wanted to spend time with his family. Speaking to Nine Wide World of Sports, Rosewall says that Australian fans may have better hopes in Alex de Minaur, one of the other rising young Australian players.
Alex, hes got a different approach to the game (than Nick). Hes very competitive, he likes to play well every time he plays. The moment he steps on to the court, hes 100 per cent, whereas Nick seems to have got into the habit where takes things a little bit easier.
He said himself he hasnt been practising and I think that will show later (in the tournament) if he gets involved in any long matches. If he plays in Melbourne and you get (hot) weather like this, best of five sets, even though you might get a days rest in between matches, I think its going to affect him.
Hes not going to be playing strongly enough towards the end of the match. Rosewall said that with Kyrgios being unseeded, he could draw a top seed in the early rounds which would not bode well for the young Australian.
The worse thing that can happen is if he draws one of the top-seeded players in the first round. Thats a distinct possibility and that would be bad for him. I mean, everyone would like to support Nick more, I think because people enjoy watching him play with his ability.
Just sometimes when he doesnt give it 100 per cent effort, he upsets a lot of his fans.
