Time to check in on Nick Kyrgios, the wildly talented but capricious Aussie who’s one of the best young players on tour when he gives a shit, but was last seen melting down during the first round of the U.S. Open, then describing his fluctuating dedication to the sport like this:
“In Cincinnati, I was not doing anything different. I was probably less dedicated than I was this week.”
“I was playing basketball at Lifetime Fitness every day for two hours. Like I played an hour of basketball before I played David Ferrer in the semi-final.
“I was going to ice cream, like this Graeter’s place getting a milkshake every day. I was less dedicated. And this week I was dedicated, and my shoulder starts hurting. I don’t know.”
One month later, he’s playing in the first round of the China Open in Beijing, doing this:
Reckless! Unnecessary! But so fun to watch. These breezy trick shots have become a staple of Kyrgios’s game, and while they might seem to indicate that he’s not taking tennis seriously—as seriously as basketball or ice cream maybe—if they help keep him engaged in the match at hand, it’s for the best. Kyrgios went on to beat Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-1, 6-2.