Brad Gilbert, the ex-coach of former World No. 1s Andre Agassi, Andy Murray and Andy Roddick has tipped rising Australian star Nick Kyrgios to become a multiple Grand Slam champion in the future.
Gilbert, a former Wimbledon and US Open quarterfinalist, insisted Kyrgios had the weapons to cause some significant damage even at the Australian Open in Melbourne. The 56-year-old Californian claimed that Kyrgios was maturing fast and he could soon be seen lifting trophies at the Majors.
According to Gilbert, the 22-year-old is far more talented than current World No. 4 Alexander Zverev. The pundits believe Zverev will replace Swiss legend Roger Federer as ATP’s leading man, but Gilbert doesn’t think so.
“I feel like Kyrgios is a guy who does crazy things, which have prevented him from making the progress he should have done, but I rate him as the most talented of the younger players on the circuit,” Gilbert said.
“You can look at [Alexander] Zverev, [Dominic] Thiem etc, who are very good players, but Kyrgios is the most naturally gifted. The problem is he does not do it week in, week out and you just don’t know what you are going to get from him.
“If you were to tell me in a couple of weeks that he had won the Australian Open it would not surprise me at all. He has an amazing gift and is an incredible talent, but he has to show it on a regular basis. You can have all the talent in the world, but you have to have the desire to go with it.
“Undoubtedly, I think he could be a multiple slam winner, but he has to want it enough.”
“I don’t know what he wants. He has gone without a coach and that seems strange to me. You don’t know how you would work with anyone until you spend time on court with them,” Gilbert responded to the question of coaching Kyrgios.
“The coach in me says he would be better off with a coach and it would certainly help him. Only he knows what he wants.”
