‘Grass is pure tennis, clay is not’- Nick Kyrgios

Nick Kyrgios, is known to make headline comments, and this time is no different. The young Australian has put up decent performances after his return to professional tennis, after a long injury hiatus. Kyrgios is now gearing up to prepare for his US open campaign.

In an exclusive interview with the times, Kyrgios had an interesting conversation, where he spoke about the different surfaces on which he has played, stating that Wimbledon is the pinnacle of the sport.

‘Wimbledon is as big as it gets in tennis. If you win Wimbledon you have gone to the pinnacle of the sport. I see it as where tennis started’, he said.

‘People say tennis now doesn’t belong on the grass but that’s not true’, said Kyrgios. ‘It is pure tennis at its finest. You have to be talented to play on grass. If you have a good serve and a good return, you get rewarded. If you come forward you benefit but if you do that on any other surface, you get punished’.

Kyrgios did not stop at that however, and went on to berate tennis on the dirt, calling it just a fitness test. ‘Clay-court tennis for me is not tennis at all. There is no creativity. It’s all about fitness and lasting out there. There’s none of the skill that is needed for grass’, added Kyrgios.

Kyrgios also spoke about his recovery during the recent weeks, and has stated that he is feeling good about his body’s current condition, and is also high on his confidence level. ‘Definitely, I am in a better shape than I was four months ago, that’s for sure. I’ve been doing a lot of work in the gym and it’s been a lot of fun. I’ve stayed injury-free for the last couple of months, which is a good thing for the elbow and just staying on top of all that’. He also added that he had a good time on the tour and now he was ready and focused to reap the rewards on the court.  ‘I had some time in the Bahamas to regroup, I feel confident. Now it’s a very serious time of the year’.

Kyrgios has signed up for four tournaments at Atlanta, Washington, Toronto and Cincinnati respectively, before he heads off to the flushing meadows for the final Grand slam of the year.