Kyrgios working hard to control fiery character

Kyrgios burst onto the scene in 2014 with victory over Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon on his way to the quarter-finals, but his first full year on tour was surrounded by controversy.

Published : May 21, 2016 20:26 IST , Melbourne

"I wasn't ready for that from many angles. On the court I am working hard to keep things together but ultimately I am a competitor and a fiery one too," said Australia's Nick Kyrgios.
"I wasn't ready for that from many angles. On the court I am working hard to keep things together but ultimately I am a competitor and a fiery one too," said Australia's Nick Kyrgios.
lightbox-info

"I wasn't ready for that from many angles. On the court I am working hard to keep things together but ultimately I am a competitor and a fiery one too," said Australia's Nick Kyrgios.

Controversy has surrounded Nick Kyrgios for much of his time on the ATP Tour but the Australian believes he is starting to get a better control of his fiery temper.

Kyrgios burst onto the scene in 2014 with victory over Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon on his way to the quarter-finals, but his first full year on tour was surrounded by controversy.

During a match at the 2015 Rogers Cup he directed a sledge at Stan Wawrinka, earning the 21-year-old a 28-day suspended sentence and a hefty fine.

He has also leapt to the defence of compatriot Bernard Tomic recently in a spat with the Australian Olympic Committee.

However, Kyrgios has enjoyed a solid start to 2016 with 21 wins in 28 matches and he goes into the French Open hopeful he has better control over his temperament.

"People forget that 2015 was actually my first full year on tour but because of the end I had to 2014, I was almost expected to deliver week in week out," he is quoted as saying by Fox Sports.

"And I wasn't ready for that from many angles. On the court I am working hard to keep things together but ultimately I am a competitor and a fiery one too.

"And I want to win at everything and the frustration sometimes does bubble over and keeping that under wraps and controlling it more has helped heaps so far this year.

"But that being said, I also know I will slip up now and again too and not having that pressure of needing to be perfect every time is also a help as well.

"I need to fire up to play my best, so it’s a fine line."

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment