Nick Kyrgios has called out compatriot Bernard Tomic for being a ‘contradiction’, for prioritising money and says he can’t relate to him.
Tennis’ king of controversy penned a heartfelt letter to Players Voice about his passion (or lack thereof) for the game, his relationship with the media and his future, but couldn’t resist a dig at his frenemy.
The 22-year-old says it is unfair to paint him in the same light as Tomic and that ‘a lot has changed’ with their relationship.
‘He says one thing and he does the other. And he contradicts himself all the time,’ Kyrgios wrote.
‘Bernie has lost his way.’
Nick Kyrgios has called out compatriot Bernard Tomic for being a ‘contradiction’, for prioritising money and says he can’t relate to him
The 22-year-old says it is unfair to paint him in the same light as Tomic and that ‘a lot has changed’ with their relationship
‘He says one thing and he does the other. And he contradicts himself all the time,’ Kyrgios wrote. ‘Bernie has lost his way’
Kyrgios has hardly been the picture of consistency himself, sandwiching first round Wimbledon and US Open losses with wins over several top 10-ranked stars including Rafael Nadal. These are the matches he says are easy to get up for, it is the lesser-known and lower ranked opponents against which he struggles, and sometimes ‘tanks’.
The one thing the enigma has remained true to however is his love for the game, something he openly admits is lacking.
‘I am not the professional tennis needs me to be,’ he wrote for Players Voice.
Kyrgios says he does not love tennis, and the loss of his Nanna, who he describes as being like his mother, two years ago only worsened his dwindling passion for the sport.
‘If I’m honest, I’d say I haven’t committed to tennis the way the game needs me to since she died.’
The one thing the enigma has remained true to however is his love for the game, something he openly admits is lacking. ‘I am not the professional tennis needs me to be,’ he said
Tomic has said he isn’t motivated by tennis, instead by money, but maintains his dream is still to win Grand Slams. ‘It doesn’t make sense at all,’ Kyrgios says
Tomic and Kyrgios have long been linked, as two young Australians who combined immense talent with promising openings to their respective careers, but Kyrgios says the similarities end there.
Tomic has said he isn’t motivated by tennis, instead by money, but maintains his dream is still to win Grand Slams.
‘It doesn’t make sense at all,’ Kyrgios says.
‘I don’t need the excess money at all. We’re a lot different.’
Tomic and Kyrgios have long been linked, as two young Australians who combined immense talent with promising openings to their respective careers, but Kyrgios says the similarities end there
‘I don’t need the excess money at all. We’re a lot different,’ Kyrgios says of Tomic
The 22-year-old world no.20 also says his arrogant and disrespectful image is misguided, and defended those infamous pictures outside a London nightclub following his Wimbledon withdrawal.
‘It was like a crime had been committed. I mean, who hasn’t gone clubbing in their lives?’
Kyrgios says he is now motivated to help at-risk children, particularly in his home city of Canberra.
He has built a shelter near the tennis centre in Lyneham as a tribute to his late Nanna, and is motivated to create an entire recreational facility, complete with basketball and tennis courts and a pool, for underprivileged kids.
‘That, I am learning, is what life is all about.’