Nick Kyrgios has a chance to book his place in the fourth round of the US Open for the very first time in his career as he takes on American star J.J. Wolf in the third round.
Kyrgios beat his good friend and doubles partner Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) in the first round before getting the better of Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi 7-6 (7-3), 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in the second round.
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Wolf, a 23-year-old from Cincinnati, upset No. 16 seed Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in the first round and then defeated Chilean Alejandro Tabilo 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-3 in the second round.
Kyrgios, the No. 23 seed, is undoubtedly the favourite going into the clash and will face world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev in the fourth round if he wins.
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But tennis legend John McEnroe believes there’s an element to the Aussie star that could prevent him from fully taking advantage of his tag as the favoured man to win.
Everyone is looked at like, how close to reaching your potential do you get, maximising your potential,” McEnroe told the New York Post.
“That’s always the goal of any athlete. All athletes have fear of failure. It’s how do you handle that? … In Nick’s case, as we all do, we all have fear of failure, it’s his way to try to take off some of the pressure. Unfortunately, at times, it’s not allowed him to compete to his best, he stopped competing.”
“Fortunately, recently, it looks like he’s found a good spot in his life, and he’s doing a much better job at that.
“Nick moves the needle, he’s a great young kid. The players like him, the fans like him, he brings something to the table. He’s the most talented player that’s been out there in the last 10 years, bar none. So you want to see a guy like that maximise his potential. It would be a shame if he didn’t.”
