Startling revelation that sums up Nick Kyrgios's career

Say what you will about Nick Kyrgios - he’s nothing if not honest.

In the same interview in which the fiery Aussie tennis star unleashed on modern greats of the game in Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, Kyrgios showed he wasn’t afraid to put the spotlight on his own attitude either.

In a series of remarkably revealing comments to prominent tennis writer Ben Rothenberg during his No Challenges Remaining podcast, Kyrgios admitted his fear of failure was a factor when it came to his somewhat erratic professional record.

“I think there’s an element of that,” Kyrgios said.

“But, at the same time, when I was 19 at Wimbledon, I was at the quarterfinals and giving my full effort. Literally, since that day, it was my best chance at winning a grand slam.

“Ever since then, I’ve gone to the fourth round, quarters and run into maybe Murray, someone that’s just been too good.

“I literally can’t win. Even if I was ticking all the boxes, I wouldn’t have been able to win.

“It’s just they’re in their prime.”

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Despite this, Kyrgios has had his moments of glory against the world’s best.

Nevertheless, Kyrgios told Rothenberg he had occasionally questioned whether playing tennis was what made him happy.

“But now, I don’t know, like, deep down, I’ve had conversations with myself; like, is it a front?” Kyrgios said.

“Winning a grand slam or winning tennis matches, to me, they don’t make me happy.

“For instance, today, as soon as I won the match, I was happy to get off the court and literally get some food; I hadn’t eaten all day.

“These things, they don’t make me happy.

“When I was young, I thought it’d be cool to have all the fame, the money, all this sort of stuff, but, dude, it’s not making me happy at all. I just want to be at home.

“I just want to be doing, like, low-key things.”

Kyrgios slams rivals

Kyrgios said Djokovic has a “sick obsession with being liked”, slamming the “cringeworthy” way he celebrates victories.

He also predicted the World No.1 would surpass Roger Federer’s record grand slam haul, but would never be the GOAT because he can’t seem to beat Kyrgios, even though Kyrgios spends next to no time training.

As for Nadal, the Aussie addressed his recent war of words with the Spanish great, who labelled Kyrgios ‘disrespectful’ after a controversial match in Mexico in February.