Aussie tennis legend Wally Masur believes Nick Kyrgios is in the best position he’ll ever have to win a Grand Slam, but he needs to “maintain that rage” to be a chance to win the final.
Speaking on Stan Sports’ Grand Slam Daily, Masur said Kyrgios would need to be wary of a subconscious complacency ahead of the Wimbledon final.
He said it was common for lower-ranked players who ran deep in slams to not have the same drive as earlier in the tournament.
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“For lesser ranked players … you don’t know you’re doing it but you give yourself a pat on the back for getting this far,” Masur said.
“Something happens and you step out onto the court for your next match and you’re not quite where you were – you don’t have that same sort of hunger, desire or the adrenaline or the nerves … you almost feel a little bit self-satisfied.”
Kyrgios would need to “keep the hunger and energy” and “maintain that rage” to perform in the final, according to Masur.
The world No.40 will make his debut in a grand slam final on Sunday night (AEST) against either Novak Djokovic.
Kyrgios has played Djokovic twice on the ATP Tour, winning both times. Both matches were on hard courts.
Masur said he believed Kyrgios deserved his spot in the final, and that he was a good chance to beat Nadal anyway if they took to the court.
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“He can beat Rafa – even a fully fit Rafa. But you’re going to pay a price for that win – it’s going to be a physical battle,” he said,
Masur said potentially not having to switch from the left-handed Nadal to the right-handed Djokovic between the semi and the final will also be to his advantage.
“Now he can kind of sit back and tailor his practice according to his needs. This is a pretty sweet position for Nick to be in,” Masur said.
“You can say he’s lucky, but he was the guy that put himself in the position to take advantage.”
Masur also explained why Nadal’s quarter-final opponent Taylor Fritz can’t be called through to take the Spaniard’s place in the semi-final.
He said while it’s not uncommon for ‘Lucky Loser’ qualifiers to make the main draw at the start of a slam, once main draw matches have started, the draw is set.
“If a player loses in the last round of qualifying, and a player pulls out before the first ball is struck in the main draw, you can slot a lucky loser in the main draw,” he explained.
“But once a ball is struck in the main draw, that’s it – it’s then fixed.”
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