After retiring from three straight matches—at Queen’s Club, at Wimbledon, and in Washington, D.C.—Nick Kyrgios won a match Monday, a 6-1, 6-2 dismissal of Victor Troicki at the Rogers Cup in Montreal. A day later, he willingly got hit in the butt.
Kyrgios has been open to whimsy so far in Montreal. He also invited a random fan to come hit with him on his practice court—
—and followed through on the promise.
Whether this breezy attitude translates to sustained focus on court is anyone’s guess; the volatile No. 16 seed will play unseeded Paolo Lorenzi in the second round this afternoon. Somewhere out there is a coach who could make themselves (and Nick) very rich by solving for the conditions that keep this player happy and engaged.