Will Nick Pull Himself Together In Time For the French?

If I had to choose a player to play a match that my life depended on, one of the last people I would choose would be Nick. Not because of lack of talent or skill, but because of his mental roller coasters, and most roller coasters only have one or two peaks while the rest of the ride is a downward journey.

This couldn’t be made anymore obvious than it was yesterday, as Nick crashed out of the Lyon Open with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, to the Argentinian qualifier Nicolas Kicker. It’s not that Nick lost to a qualifier, everybody has those days, but it was the way he lost. Nick had 9 double faults, rare from somebody who is apparently a big server. Fine, double faults can happen, but Nick also had 16 aces and a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Definitely not the best way to prepare for the French Open.

It all went awry at 4-4 in the second set, where it seemed as if Kyrgios was on top of things even with his uncustomary double faults. The defining moment was when at set point, Kyrgios decided to let the nerves get to his greatest strength, and netted a second serve to lose the second set. During the change over Kyrgios was a myriad of negative emotions that were clearly visible to his opponent. Dropping his water bottle on the ground until a ball kid came to pick it up and give it to him, and then hitting a tweener early in the third set when he should have been focused on the bread and butter to get his game back in order, were easy signs that Kyrgios had gone walk about.

It’s not exactly a new pattern for the Aussie, who has had mental ups and downs from the beginning of his career. There were times when his outright arrogance would be his downfall, and when his lack of seriousness would be the reason for his mental weakness. The worst part about this particular match is that it is right before the French Open, where everyone is closely watching the top contenders for any signs of weakness, and Kyrgios went right ahead and shoved the wound in their faces. Clay is not Nick’s best surface especially since it requires strong movement. Also, Nick won’t be able to bash the ball for a winner as easily as he would on a hard court.

It seems like even Kyrgios is getting tired of his own drama. In an interview where he spoke about the up and coming Zverev, he talked about how he admired the youngster and that there are some things that Nick himself doesn’t ‘quite tick the box for’.

A level head is the most valuable skill that a professional player can have, especially during a Grand Slam, where the cream, the champions, rise to the top. It doesn’t seem like Nick has been able to get his head on straight yet.

With the French Open right around the corner, Nick doesn’t have much time either.