Tennis star Andy Murray has made a startling comment from out of the blue about what he really thinks of Aussie Nick Kyrgios.
Nick Kyrgios counts Andy Murray as one of his closest friends on the ATP Tour and his longest mentor on the circuit. It’s why an honest statement from the former World No. 1 is raising eyebrows.
Murray has repeatedly spoken with affection about Kyrgios’ game and his nicer personality qualities off the tennis court.
On Wednesday, however, Murray gave a brutally honest assessment of the 26-year-old Aussie.
The Scottish three-time grand slam-winner was asked about which players he enjoys watching and his answer included a surprisingly blunt mention of Kyrgios.
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“I like watching [Corentin] Moutet. I like watching [Gael] Monfils. I like watching [Nick] Kyrgios when he’s into it,” he said in an interview with atptour.com.
“When he’s not into it, I don’t enjoy that at all. But when he’s into it, I really enjoy watching him.
“Some of the youngsters now, the young, young ones, are really fun to watch. I like watching [Daniil] Medvedev as well. I think he’s a very interesting player who has got lots of variety and has an awkward-looking game. But he’s very intelligent on the court and that’s what I like to see. I like people who are thinking out there.”
Kyrgios is on a three-match losing streak and is yet to make it through to a quarter-final this year.
His ranking has dropped to No. 81 in the world.
He controversially skipped the Olympics in a last-minute withdrawal following Wimbledon as a result of the Covid-19 climate that surrounded the Tokyo Games.
“If I’m to play the Olympics I wanna do it the right way,” Kyrgios said last month.
“I wanna do it with full crowds, with my guests there. I want to do it when I’m able to watch other athletes do their thing. That’s the Olympics for me.”
He has since committed to playing the 2022 Australian Open and has promised to feature in the mixed doubles with American teenage sensation Coco Gauff.
Gauff accepted his offer to team up after she was recently asked which player she would like to be friends with during an interview at the Citi Open, and the 17-year-old didn’t need long to conjure an answer.
“Definitely Nick Kyrgios. On court he’s a super funny guy and off court super kind,” she responded.
“He probably doesn‘t know this, but I first hit with him when I was 12 I believe at the Miami Open.
“He also played ping-pong with my brother back in the Citi Open last year.”
Originally published as Kyrgios close friend’s surprisingly salty clip