Courier's message of hope for troubled star Kyrgios
Tennis legend Jim Courier has delivered a hopeful assessment of Nick Kyrgios, likening the troubled star to a young Andre Agassi.
The American commentator was speaking to Channel 7's Hamish McLachlan, after the Aussie's infamous second round meltdown against Andreas Seppi.
"For the first set, two sets and a half he (Kyrgios) was in control," Courier said.
Courier says Kyrgios reminds him of Agassi a lot. Pic: Getty
"He was in command, he looked good and then something switched and from there on he was half invested in the match. He was fighting against himself."
When asked if he'd seen anything like the kind of implosion fans witnessed during Kyrgios's match, Courier confessed that it reminded him of a young Andre Agassi.
"Not so much their game style but so much of their emotional energy, their feeling for being a rebel and pushing back against authority."
"Obviously Andre had a big transformation in the middle of his career which led to so many more titles for him and he became a pure professional.
Agassi went on to win 8 grand slam singles titles
"We're still in the early days with Nick so it’s still really hard to say whether he'll make that move."
Courier said he was glad to hear Kyrgios admit that he needs a coach, but warned the Aussie that until that happens he will never fulfill his true potential.
"To go from where Nick is, this amazing piece of coal that has the chance to be an incredible diamond, it takes shaping and he can't do that alone in my opinion.
"If he does, he'll be the first one I've ever seen really in any sport."
And what about his thoughts on 'that' tweener from Kyrgios, while trying to keep his tournament alive deep into the deciding set against Seppi?
"That shot made it to Sportscenter in America which is sort of our beacon show. And there's some people who would prefer to be on Sportscenter, than win a match."
The tennis great said he was at a loss to try and explain Kyrgios's anger towards his players' box and the detrimental effect it had on his performance.
"It's not a good look when he looks less interested than the people in his players box but again, people handle stress in different ways."
"I said it in commentary, I thought he was trying to send a message at his own expense, perhaps to his strength and conditioning coach but he was lashing out via lack of energy and effort."
Courier, however, refused to get drawn in on fellow great John McEnroe's assessment that Kyrgios's antics were a "black eye on the sport."
"Whether that's a black eye on the sport, I'll leave that to Johnny Mac that's his thing, not mine, but he can do better."
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