Mount Saint Nick is almost always on the verge of erupting, no matter the situation. Take last month’s Citi Open in Washington, D.C.
Nick Kyrgios was playing his first match since reaching his first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon a few weeks earlier. On the first point against unheralded and overmatched American Marcos Giron, he tried — and failed — to hit a shot from between his legs, which was entertaining enough.
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A handful of games later, though, with the proceedings still on serve, and after Giron hit a nice but innocuous winner up the line to momentarily get back to deuce, the Aussie collected a ball, turned to the crowd, and launched it so far out of the stadium it might’ve landed in Baltimore.
In earlier times, Kyrgios would have almost certainly gone on to explode and then implode. But on match point, Kyrgios went to a fan, asked the woman where he should hit his serve, and dispatched Giron in less than an hour before eventually going on to win the tournament without being broken. The title was the 27-year-old’s first of the year and the performance, perhaps, a harbinger of the next two weeks at the U.S. Open.
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Kyrgios has had years with more titles — three in 2016 and two in 2019 — but to say that he is playing anything other than his best tennis, and some of the best tennis of anyone on the planet at the moment, would be to have lived the last couple of months on a deserted island.
“I think I had such a bad experience, and a lot of stuff was going on last year around this time that I just didn’t have a good time on a tennis court at all,” Kyrgios told The Post.
You don’t even have to go back that far for some of the bad stuff.
In July, while in the midst of his run at the All England Club, Kyrgios was charged with assaulting a former girlfriend in an alleged incident last December. The case is due in court in October. If convicted, he faces up to two years in jail.
Back in May, Kyrgios opened up about his mental health struggles, particularly earlier in his career. The dark days included drugs, alcohol, and suicidal thoughts.
A few months after that revelation, Kyrgios’ older brother, Christos, wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald that the carefree and engaging kid he’d grown up with was “almost gone,” that he’d become “a prisoner in his own body” and that the two stopped talking for a while.
There were times when he admittedly threw matches. There were innumerable expletive-filled, on-court rants and tantrums over the months and years, too.
The most recent outburst came during the Wimbledon final, where, after keeping his poise and cooly taking the opening set against Novak Djokovic, Kyrgios melted down in epic-but-typical fashion.
At the time, he berated his own box and pointed out a woman who allegedly called out during one of his serves, labelling her as “drunk out of her mind,” and saying she’s “had about 700 drinks, bro.” (Earlier in the tournament, Kyrgios also spit in the direction of a fan and was fined $10,000.)
Of course, Djokovic went on to collect his 21st career major, second all-time. And the woman who Kyrgios had temporarily tossed, Polish medical lawyer Ania Palus, is now suing for defamation.
But something seems to have clicked with the usually unaccountable and uncontrolled Kyrgios, at least as of late.
On the court, his fitness and practice habits are said to have improved and have become more focused. The Mount Saint Nick eruptions have simmered somewhat as well.
Off the court, he’s come to realise that he’s 27 years old and the opportunities before him don’t come around very often — with no Djokovic or Roger Federer at Flushing Meadows, and Rafael Nadal coming off an abdominal tear, if Kyrgios is ever going to win a Slam, now is the time.
Kyrgios also credits his current girlfriend, Costeen Hatzi, for adding a dose of calm, balance, and support.
“I think just being at peace with your life definitely helps,” Kyrgios said in Washington. “If you look at the most successful players in the world, everything around them is set up and they don’t worry about anything else externally. Their job is just go out there and focus on the tennis court and fight hard and produce tennis, and that’s it.”
There’s no excusing or dismissing Kyrgios’ behaviour with regard to the assault charge. If there’s a shred of guilt, he should pay the price for it, because while he can move on, the victim doesn’t get that luxury.
As for tennis, Kyrgios focusing on that is a good idea.
In 11 tournaments this year, he is 31-9. That includes pushing Nadal to three sets in Indian Wells; a straight-sets win over Andrey Rublev in Miami; victories over hated rival Stefanos Tsitsipas in Germany and at Wimbledon; a gritty three-set win over hometown favourite Frances Tiafoe in D.C.; and taking out Daniil Medvedev in three sets in Montreal.
Much of that success can be attributed to Kyrgios’ booming serves — he ranks third on tour in aces and fourth in first-serve points won this season — but the rest of his game has risen as well, in consistency and quality.
Though there are other signs of maturation perhaps, too, however small.
In D.C., away from the view of the camera, he often interacted with fans, especially kids. Between matches, he went sightseeing around the city, posing for pics with Hatzi. And, when it became obvious that the singles title was within his grasp, he didn’t bail on doubles partner Jack Sock, even when it meant playing both finals on the same day. He won that title, too, becoming the first player to sweep both in the tournament’s 53-year history, then thanked everyone involved with the event.
“I just feel like a bit of a perfectionist at times,” Kyrgios told The Post.
“I feel like that Wimbledon final has made me just obsessed with trying to play a perfect point every time when it’s not realistic at all in tennis. … I think I’m going to be a bit nicer to myself and stop expecting myself to play the perfect point every time.
“You know, it’s a new experience. Sometimes people play a slam final or win a Grand Slam and they struggle for the next six months, but I feel like I don’t want to be one of those players. I want to be one of those players that rides with it and continues to play well. I don’t want to have any lulls or down matches after a Grand Slam. It’s a small window, so I’m going to use it.”
He needs to now more than ever.
This article first appeared in The New York Postand was reproduced with permission.
