Nick Kyrgios has revealed that he is desperate not to repeat the same mistake made by Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal when he finally ends his playing career.
The 29-year-old Australian made these statements in the latest episode of The Louis Theroux Podcast, where he also spoke about his return to tennis, how he wants to retire “with more grace” than Andy Murray and his battles with his mental problems. health.
Asked how and when he might retire, Kyrgios said he did not want to “creep to the finish line” like Murray.
As with many fans of the Scot, Kyrgios clearly found it difficult to watch Murray fight like a shadow of his former self.
“I look at how Andy Murray is doing now and how Rafael is coming out, I don’t want to be like that,” he said.
‘I don’t want to drag myself to the finish line. What Andy Murray has achieved in this sport is unmatched by anyone, unless you are Novak, Federer or Nadal, the next person is Andy Murray.
“It’s like you accomplished it all, you deserve to go out with a little more grace than him.” “I think the surgeries, the pain, in my opinion, is just not worth it.”
Andy Murray has been a huge supporter of Nick Kyrgios throughout his troubled career.
Kyrgios to return to professional tennis for the first time in two years after long injury break
Kyrgios opened up to Louis Theroux on his podcast about his plans for tennis and retirement.
Speaking about a “bad period” of his life in 2019, Kyrgios also told Theroux: “I was just struggling to be who I was, it was difficult at the time and I didn’t feel like I could take a step back.” Playing sports and working on myself and putting myself in the right mental space.’
‘I was just playing and playing and playing and dealing with everything. It was a dark time. I was drinking and I was out of control and I kept playing and traveling. It was a lot.’
When asked how much he drank, he replied: ’20 or 30 drinks (in one night), easy. I would drink like a fish.
‘Whatever, vodka, whatever.
‘But then he just wakes up and plays Nadal the next day. Gives him a run for his money. It was pretty hectic.’
Kyrgios doesn’t want his tennis career to fade like Murray, who has battled injuries for years.
The Australian star also highlighted Spanish great Rafael Nadal, who has also battled injury.
The 2022 Wimbledon finalist said he would occasionally be joined by other players on these drunken binges, but “very rarely.”
Kyrgios has battled mental health issues for much of his career and once again credited Murray for his help and support.
In 2019, Murray noticed evidence of self-harm and intervened to help his friend. Kyrgios ended up spending some time in a psychiatric ward that year.
“I fight this most days,” Kyrgios said when asked how he was doing. ‘I don’t wake up feeling amazing… I feel like I now know my steps to get me out of my bad thoughts… I feel like I could go back to those habits in an instant.
‘I feel like I could do those things, but I don’t want to. As before, he had no resistance. I don’t want to do that now.’
In his prime, Kyrgios reached the Wimbledon final against Novak Djokovic in London
Kyrgios also won the Australian Open doubles title alongside his good friend Thanasi Kokkinakis.
Kyrgios has played only one match since October 2022 due to injuries. But earlier this month he revealed that he will play the Australian Open next January.
“I could go back now and beat 50 percent of the players, but I don’t want to do that,” Kyrgios said. ‘My fans deserve a better version of myself than the one I have now on the court.
“I don’t want to just participate and I know the world won’t be kind to me when I get back.”
“Suddenly they will forget that I was out for a year and a half with injuries.
“They’re just going to think that it’s Nick Kyrgios who has all the expectations again.” “So when you lose, it’s not right.”
Finally, Theroux asked Kyrgios about the oft-repeated narrative that he hasn’t reached his potential in the sport, that the game comes so easy to him, but that he failed to back that up with hard work.
“However, that is not the case, because it is not easy,” he said. ‘It’s not like I picked “professional tennis player” out of a hat and that was my life. I’ve worked 10 times harder than most people.
‘If someone did my training day, I’d probably be in the hospital. You know what I mean? They don’t see what I do every day.’