The Aussie younglings have kicked up a lot of fuzz in recent years. Kokkinakis has been the least prone to end up in the media, but Kyrgios helped him during his own match against Wawrinka last year when he announced to the microphones around the court that his friend, Kokkinakis, had been banging Wawrinka’s current girlfriend.
Kyrgios comment was an illustration of how “hot” is head gets at times. Sometimes the umpire finds himself in the crossfire, other times it’s the opponent or, apparently, his friends. He seems to have found a better way to channel his energy through his tennis lately though, his results this year are good and now he’s in the Madrid Masters quarter-finals.
Tomic on the other hand got some viral attention based on his baseball-like swing at match point down against Fognini in Madrid. He had obviously given up and commented on his antics: “I don’t care about that match point,” Tomic told a Gold Coast Bulletin reporter. “Would you care if you were 23 and worth over $10 million?”
I actually highly doubt that he’s already worth 10 million USD or AUD, but either or, the comment is immature and irrelevant. You can have attitude on court and turn into something positive, but this kind of philosophy outside the court will surely be more of an obstacle unless you’re strategy is to turn everyone against you and try to get some strength from that, like some kind if Kylo Ren.
So what’s up with these youngsters? Why are they so cocky? Is it all a part of growing up or a sign of a bigger problem?
Hard to say. Kokkinakis strikes me as relatively humble and happy to take a low-profile position. Recently, he’s had no choice with a shoulder-injury sidelining him for a few months or more.
Despite of the antics, I do believe that tennis needs personalities like Kyrgios to draw a wider audience to the game. The Wawrinka comment was a bit of a low-blow, but it’s a big reason that the Kyrgios vs Wawrinka match in Madrid was sold out when other interesting matches had half-empty stands. That doesn’t mean tennis should become a Kardashian drama overdose, but some spice here and there can’t hurt can it?
What are your thoughts about these youngster antics? Entertainment or just bad behaviour?
