Nick Kyrgios labelled ‘a tennis genius’ by Novak Djokovic coach Goran Ivanisevic after Wimbledon final
Nick Kyrgios has certainly left an impression on Goran Ivanisevic despite the Croat’s charge Novak Djokovic overcoming the Australian talent in the Wimbledon final on Sunday.
The world number 45 reached the championship match while unseeded to take on Djokovic, but the six-time Wimbledon champion made it seven trophies at SW19 to win in four sets.
With Djokovic a true tactical master, particularly in five-set Slam tennis, his coach Ivanisevic was asked in a post-final press conference how the team prepared to face Kyrgios.
“You cannot prepare for a match against Nick Kyrgios,” Ivanisevic responded candidly. “He is a genius, a tennis genius. He doesn’t know what he’s going to play next in the point.
“We just concentrated on what Novak had to do, the things he had to be careful [with].
“When somebody is serving like Nick Kyrgios, for me the best server in the game by far, an unbelievable tennis player, it is very unpredictable.
“So it’s impossible to make tactics. 15 minutes, [against Djokovic] the best returner in the world, he does not touch [Kyrgios’] serve.
“You need to take every chance you get because you don’t have too many chances.”
The quotes from Ivanisevic sit in contrast to analysis made by Toni Nadal, with the former coach of nephew Rafa describing Kyrgios’ understanding of the sport as ‘messy’.
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