Nick Kyrgios believes that tennis needs diverse personalities and characters in the game because not everybody can be inspired by Roger Federer.
Nick Kyrgios recently opened up on his approach to the game and said that he couldn’t really take anything from Federer.
He believes that Federer is very hard for anyone to relate to batting a small group of people.
American businessman Gary Vaynerchuk drew the confession out of Nick Kyrgios in a YouTube chat between the two.
“If everyone was the same and acted the same, no one would watch. They wouldn’t be growing fans, youthful fans, like… I’m not relatable to Federer. Only a couple of people are relatable to Federer, I’m not,” Nick Kyrgios said.
“I never looked at him and I was like, ‘I wanna be that guy,’ I knew it wasn’t attainable.”
Vaynerchuk brought up Kyrgios’ 2022 fine at Wimbledon for inappropriate attire on the court with a sense of disbelief.
He added that he felt that the boundary pushers in tennis have always made the sport more interesting.
“In a world where there’s real s**t going on, is a red f***ing hat that serious? I’ll use tennis terms. The Agassi of it all, the McEnroe of it all, the Connors of it all,” Vaynerchuk said.
“I think they underestimate the importance of those people and what they do to create conversations, and I think that’s powerful.”
Kyrgios has hinted that he could be set to make a return before the grass swing this season.
The Australian has admitted that retirement is appealing to him but it seems that he still has some unfinished business.
In an an interview in December, Kyrgios said he was worn down by injuries and the grind of the tour.
“If it was up to me, I don’t really want to play anymore to be honest,” Kyrgios said on the On Purpose with Jay Shetty podcast.
“I’m exhausted, I’m tired. I have had three surgeries now that … I’m only 28 years old, I always wanted to have a family and not be in pain.”
Kyrgios said that he wouldn’t be able to go under the knife for another injury but still plans to play for a couple more seasons.
“I only want to play for about another one to two years….be at the top and go out on my own terms,” Kyrgios said.
“I would hate to have another surgery or anything like that. So I think I’ve still got the ability to have a good one to two years and then that’s it.
“I think I’ll be at peace with everything I’ve achieved. I’m going to have to just say to everyone out there who wants me to play more, ‘You’re just going to have to be OK with me not playing any more’.”
