‘Give it a rest!’ – Nick Kyrgios told to tone down Jannik Sinner criticism
Nick Kyrgios is ‘great’ for tennis, according to Mark Petchy, but he has been told to tone down his criticisms of other players – including world number one Jannik Sinner.
Sinner has been at the heart of controversy this year after failing a drugs test. However, he was able to prove he had no knowledge of taking the banned substance and was cleared by International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA).
The case is still unresolved, though, with the World Anti-Doping Agency appealing to decision to clear him, and player-turned pundit Kyrgios has been especially critical of the Italian, saying he should be banned.
Petchy, though, thinks Kyrgios is going over the top in his criticisms, telling Betway: “He needs to give it a rest.
“Sinner has been found not guilty, right? And we’re about to get the WADA appeal. Let’s just wait for that. You have to let the process go through due care and attention. This is a massive thing. It is somebody’s career.”
Nick Kyrgios has been an increasingly influential figure in tennis media of late as he has battled injury on the court. He is due to return in early 2025, but it’s clear a full-time media career awaits to Australian when he hangs up his racket.
Ridiculous – whether it was accidental or planned. You get tested twice with a banned (steroid) substance… you should be gone for 2 years. Your performance was enhanced. Massage cream…. Yeah nice 🙄 https://t.co/13qR0F9nH2
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) August 20, 2024
Petchy believes his true value is on the court, though, and he hopes he can keep playing for a while yet, but he would also like to see a toning down of his criticisms of players – especially when he calls modern tennis personalities ‘dull.’
“Nick can do great anywhere, maybe not so much on clay,” he said. “Nick is one of the best tennis players in the world. The question is whether he can do it week in, week out. And that’s a real skill and it’s a real testament to those players that can do it.
“Nick is awesome for the game. When he is involved the crowds love him, the younger generations go with him. There is nobody who brings the eyeballs to tennis that Nick does at times. Nick being fit and healthy and putting his style of tennis on the court is great for tennis.
“I don’t agree with what he said about the personalities of the current crop of players. I think Alcaraz is arguably one of the greatest tennis players already. Are you going to say that one of the greatest tennis players that lights up a tennis court in a way that very few tennis players have had over the years is suddenly dull?
“I’ll always go back to the Fire and Ice era of Borg and McEnroe. If Bjorn had played Bjorn nobody would be talking about that era in terms of how exciting it was.
“It was Mac who brought the passion, Jimmy Connors the bad boy. Borg the ice. You need great rivalries and different personalities. It is Fire and Ice 2.0 for me with Jannik and Carlos.
“We might not have the trash talk of the 80s but tennis actually is an unbelievably healthy space. You want to see people who are trying to win big competitions that are being ultra professional in doing that. Otherwise, what are we celebrating? People that are mediocre.”
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