'Better than Federer': Aussie star's stunning Kyrgios call

Nick Kyrgios possesses more talent than Roger Federer.

That’s the staggering claim made by Aussie wheelchair tennis champion Dylan Alcott.

Alcott recently echoed the sentiments of many former tennis greats that if Kyrgios can harness his limitless potential then grand slam success is just around the corner.

There’s no doubting Kyrgios’s raw talent, but Alcott believes his compatriot’s best is even better than the Swiss Maestro Federer.

“On talent alone, for the people that I’ve hit next to, he’s probably the most talented player in the world. Easily,” Alcott said on Sunday.

“Better than Federer. It’s unbelievable how good he is.”

Alcott also lifted the lid on what Kyrgios is like off-court.

“I like Nick, we get on really well – and I mean this, I say this every time I get asked – behind closed doors, he’s an unbelievable guy,” Alcott said.

“For example, at the tennis centre, if there are little kids hitting, he’ll go on the courts and hit with them – for no reason at all.”

But the Paralympic gold medallist conceded Kyrgios needs to control his temper better during matches, following his most recent on-court meltdown in Cincinnati.

Kyrgios was heard on court-side microphones complaining to the tournament supervisor about how none of the players liked the chair umpire.

He was then heard telling his players’ box ‘you’ll never see a bigger tank than the next three games’ before throwing away a set 6-0 against Borna Coric.

“Obviously he’s got loose lips. It was pretty interesting to see him go at the umpire saying no one likes him and no one wants him on his court,” Alcott said.

“Obviously he’s gotta knuckle down and play.

“Unbelievably though, he went on to win that match – he won the next set 6-3.

“He even openly said he was going to tank it a bit.

“It’s almost a bit of a tactic – if you’re down halfway through a set, you kinda just say ‘stuff it, I’m out of this one, I’ll save my energy for the third’.

“It’s not the right way to go about it, but he puts eyes on the tennis court.”