Former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash is coming to the aid of 19-year-old Aussie Nick Kyrgios, telling fellow Aussies to be careful about trying to change the brash, fun-loving Aussie into a mild-mannered do-gooder.
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Cash wrote an op-ed in Sunday’s London Times which expressed his disappointment in those who sought to stifle Kyrgios during his breakout period.
"I've got to be honest and say I've been disappointed with the higher people in Tennis Australia criticising Nick openly,” Cash said, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. “I don't think that's right.
"He's got the personality, that's why he plays that way. That's what you want, the X-factor and that brashness. You don't want to take that away. He may have to learn when it becomes negative and when it's not, but it's part of him. That's why he's a good player and that's why he's a good talent.”
Kyrgios, who became the first teenager to reach multiple Grand Slam quarterfinals since Roger Federer when he defeated Andreas Seppi in a dramatic five-set battle on Day 7, has already been fined for racquet abuse and audible obscenity at this year’s Australian Open. During his round of 16 match he was caught yelling at fans who had the nerve to be fussing with their cell phones while he was playing.
"Get off your f---ing phone, mate," he yelled, during the fourth set.
Kyrgios received a lot of criticism from pundits and fans on social media for his antics, but at the same time he’s being praised in a nation that is thrilled to have its first home grown quarterfinalist at the Australian Open since 2004.
“There appears to be something about the Australian mentality that delights in knocking somebody just because they are young and different,” wrote Cash.
While agreeing that Kyrgios is clearly out there, Cash pointed out that Kyrgios is young and needs room to breathe—and mature.
“Don’t ask me to listen to Kyrgios’ beloved rap music, don’t expect me to wear a lavender suit to the big tennis presentation evening or shave lines in my eyebrows,” he said. “But I wouldn’t knock him for liking and doing those things... It’s called establishing your own personality and if everyone was stereotyped with the same behavior and conservative blazer and flannels, then wouldn’t things be boring?”
Kyrgios will be put to the test where it matters this evening when he takes on Andy Murray in his second career Grand Slam quarterfinal during the Rod Laver Arena night session. The eyes of a country—and the tennis world—will be upon him. Win or lose, one thing’s for certain when it comes to Kyrgios. We’ll all be entertained.
Hard to complain about that, right?