Tennis needs Nick Kyrgios says former Wimbledon champion

Wimbledon

James Richardson
July 5, 2022

Nick Kyrgios is good for the game whether you like him or not, according to at least one former Wimbledon champion.

Marion Bartoli labelled Kyrgios ‘a disruptor’ while claiming that personalities like him are desperately needed in the sport.

Outside of the big three, Kyrgios generates the most interest and column inches.

He draws eyes and sells newspapers and Kyrgios puts bums in seats without a doubt.

Bartoli believes that his upside outweighs his downside and stopped short of suggesting he should be allowed to do entirely as he pleases on court.

“You either like him or you don’t.

“He will not make you feel middle ranged about him,” Bartoli told Ubitennis.

“We need people like this in tennis. Some sort of disruptor with a different character. I don’t think it is good to have everyone acting the same way.’

“The limit is when you start to go against the umpire but he brings something new and different which is exciting for the game.”

Bartoli asserted that Kyrgios has been one of the star attractions at this season’s Championships after his run to the last eight.

“I think he has been doing extremely well this year, tennis-wise. He got a lot of confidence playing well on the grass before Wimbledon and he just loves the show,” she said.

“He loves the center stage and the way he played (against Nakashima) was brilliant.

“He didn’t go out way too much into his extreme where he would talk out loud all the time.

“It was just about his tennis.

“He’s always so exciting and he’s a great addition to the championships.“

Bartoli believes that Stefanos Tsitsipas was guilty of being wet behind the ears heading into his third round clash with the Aussie firebrand.

“He said what he felt on the court and that’s fair. You just have to respect that,” Bartoli added on Tsitsipas.

“At the end of the day we know what Nick is bringing to the court and it is not really surprising. It was almost as if Stefanos looked surprised by that which for me is something I wouldn’t have expected from him.”

Nick Kyrgios