{"id":8003,"date":"2024-12-06T02:20:02","date_gmt":"2024-12-06T02:20:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=8003"},"modified":"2024-12-06T02:20:02","modified_gmt":"2024-12-06T02:20:02","slug":"tennis-legend-compares-nick-kyrgios-to-roger-federer-rafael-nadal-and-novak-djokovic-he-has-that-much-talent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=8003","title":{"rendered":"Tennis legend compares Nick Kyrgios to Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic: ‘He has that much talent’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tennis great Andy Roddick believes that controversial Australian firebrand\u00a0Nick Kyrgios<\/span>\u00a0is just as talented as\u00a0Novak Djokovic<\/span>,\u00a0Rafael Nadal<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0Roger Federer<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Last month, Kyrgios\u00a0announced when he will return to the court after a two-year absence – and revealed he only wants to spend a very short time in the game before moving on with his life.<\/p>\n

Injuries have kept the former\u00a0Wimbledon<\/span>\u00a0finalist sidelined for an extended period, leading many to wonder if the mercurial talent would ever return to the game.<\/p>\n

The 29-year-old says he will be back for the World Tennis League event in Abu Dhabi from December 19 to 22.<\/p>\n

That will give him ample time to prepare for another\u00a0Australian Open<\/span>\u00a0assault, where he has previously claimed the doubles title alongside fellow Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis.<\/p>\n

Roddick, who hasn’t always had the best relationship with Kyrgios, has surprisingly ranked him alongside\u00a0the so-called Big Three of\u00a0Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer when it comes to raw ability.<\/p>\n

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Andy Roddick believes that firebrand Nick Kyrgios (pictured) is just as talented as Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Big Three of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic are widely considered to be\u00a0 the greatest players of all time<\/p>\n

‘He’s one of the only guys I’ve seen that are on par with the Big Three in terms of talent.<\/p>\n

‘He has that much talent in his hands, in his tennis IQ, the way he sees the game.’<\/p>\n

‘I would go back in a heartbeat without thinking twice if I could have his game and my ability to take pain,.<\/p>\n

‘We would’ve been a good player.’<\/p>\n

Roddick went on to say that he thinks Kyrgios –\u00a0who is arguably Australia’s most polarising athlete – is good for the sport.<\/p>\n

‘I wish he was around more often,’ Roddick said.<\/p>\n

‘I’d love to see him in full flight committing to three years of the right decisions. He’s amazing.’<\/p>\n

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Former World No.1 Andy Roddick (pictured) described Nick Kyrgios as ‘amazing’<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Nick Kyrgios (pictured with girlfriend Costeen)\u00a0is arguably Australia’s most polarising athlete<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Kyrgios has been working as a commentator during his enforced hiatus from the sport and has previously spoken about his desire to retire early.<\/p>\n

But he is coming back with a vengeance, posting a call-out to videographers to document his return and revealing he has a point to prove.<\/p>\n

‘I am coming back because something is keeping me around the game,’ he told\u00a0News Corp<\/span>.<\/p>\n

‘I have beaten pretty much every person that has been put in front of me, made a final of a Grand Slam, won a doubles title in a Grand Slam, won multiple titles and made money.<\/p>\n

‘But I think the one thing that is now on my target is a Grand Slam. I think that will be the only thing that will shut people up at the end of the day.<\/p>\n

‘That’ll be my deep motivation.’<\/p>\n

Kyrgios has earned a reputation as a firebrand for his combustible nature on court, including being fined $166,714 by the ATP for a vulgar expletive-filled rage at the Cincinnati Masters and even dragging Hollywood star Ben Stiller into an argument with a heckler.<\/p>\n

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Kyrgios has confirmed he will play in the Australian Open next January<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Talented Australian has played just one competitive match in two years<\/p>\n

But the Aussie insists he is misunderstood.<\/p>\n

‘I guess I was branded that just because I was a bit outside the circle of what a normal tennis player is,’ he said.<\/p>\n

‘I don’t think I carry that perception with the Aussie public anymore. But at the start of my career, people thought I was like a murderer.’<\/p>\n

With his return locked in, Kyrgios was also asked about his eventual retirement and his response was very different to the previous times he has hinted at hanging up the racket early.<\/p>\n

‘I’m far from done, to be honest,’ he said.<\/p>\n

‘I’m in the later stages of my career but I still have one or two years left\u2026 I’m feeling extremely well.<\/p>\n

‘I’m hitting for around three hours every day now. My wrist from surgery has completely healed and I’m feeling motivated.’<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tennis great Andy Roddick believes that controversial Australian firebrand\u00a0Nick Kyrgios\u00a0is just as talented as\u00a0Novak Djokovic,\u00a0Rafael Nadal\u00a0and\u00a0Roger Federer. Last month, Kyrgios\u00a0announced when he will return to the court… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8008,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tennis"],"yoast_head":"\nTennis legend compares Nick Kyrgios to Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic: 'He has that much talent' - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=8003\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tennis legend compares Nick Kyrgios to Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic: 'He has that much talent' - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Tennis great Andy Roddick believes that controversial Australian firebrand\u00a0Nick Kyrgios\u00a0is just as talented as\u00a0Novak Djokovic,\u00a0Rafael Nadal\u00a0and\u00a0Roger Federer. 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