American tennis legend John McEnroe claims that Nick Kyrgios is the most most talented player outside the 'Big Three' of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, admitting that it would be a "no-brainer" to take up the opportunity to coach the young star if he wanted a mentor.
Kyrgios is currently coach-less but has struck up a relationship with McEnroe in the past, with the seven-time Grand Slam winner a big believer of the Australian's talent.
"Of course I'd be tempted," McEnroe told Sports Sunday.
"He'd be like a no-brainer, if it worked it would be incredible. We'd probably be at each other's throats within minutes, but it would certainly be tempting. Not only with me, it can be with someone else. I'm not the only guy who's willing and able to do the job. He just doesn't seem ready to have a coach. First of all, he's got to be ready to want to do it,' he added.
McEnroe admitted that the biggest challenge for Kyrgios is mastering the mental side of the game. "I know the expectations weigh heavy on his shoulder and some people have that fear of failure, we all do, it's just how you handle it," he said.
"It's been difficult for him to understand what it takes to bring out the best in himself consistently. As we all know, for people who are around sports and are athletes, it's not just about how much talent you have, it's about how much fortitude you have mentally and what type of fitness you put yourself in mentally as well as physically and how deep you're willing to get. How far will you go to get the win and do what it takes?... We've had these discussions many times, I don't know if he'll be able to do it, I hope he does, because I happen to like him and it would be great for the game if he did," McEnroe concluded.
Despite his on-court conduct in his early days, Kyrgios has a big heart. He recently took to the streets of Canberra, to deliver food to anyone going hungry during the pandemic.
This is not the first time this year that the 25-year old has stepped up in a crisis and his charitable efforts have to be commended. During the Australian summer of tennis, he pledged to donate $200 for every ace he hit and it was his idea of the ‘Rally for Relief’ that helped raise millions of dollars for those impacted by the devastating bushfires.
*Image courtesy of Nick Kyrgios' Instagram