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Welcome to the Atlanta Tennis Podcast.

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Hey, hey, this is Shaun with the Atlanta Tennis Podcast,

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With that said, let's get started with 10 minutes of tennis.

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As always, Justin Yeo, world renowned tennis coach, Australian in Puerto Rico,

and I am Shaun Boyce, and today we are asking the question,

well, I am asking the question, is Nick Kyrigos is good for the sport,

and knowing you are Australian, and clearly all Australians know each other,

since you all know each other.

You get that every once in a while, Justin, you get that,

"Oh, you're from Australia, oh yeah, do you know Jim?"

Yeah, you know Jim, right from Australia.

Yeah, we all apparently know each other.

You all know each other, exactly.

25 me and in the size of the United States,

and we're supposed to know each other.

You all know each other, since clearly.

But in this case, I think you do know personally, Nick.

I do, I've had to work with him when he was a junior,

and he had a junior development at Tennis Australia,

and seeing his growth was incredible.

Now, I've next list had a run out, but it went for the like,

chubby boys and the tall skinny kid that years now.

And again, I can refrain from calling my kid,

but we're all seeing as a kid, and we all have to understand these guys,

even in their 20s, it's still kids these days.

Everyone will chew us later, if they don't,

their robotic, they're not being themselves,

they're not, you know, they're trying to be someone else.

And that's what I think, that I need to open up about.

Nick Curios is just being himself, you know,

and what I have to say,

without putting my foot in my mouth,

is that he's expressing and being himself,

that majority of all tennis players are on the inside,

by trying to manage it and not see it on the outside.

I think that's a great way to put it.

And that's the easiest way to put it, right?

Now, are you best to try to change that,

or are you best to try to help manage it?

And that has been my thing for tennis Australia for,

I don't know, at least six years, seven years,

when he was in Wimbledon and knocked off,

you know, for the top 10 players,

and he's first ever Wimbledon.

I mean, come on guys, like, the guy was talented.

There's no question.

Everybody was like, oh,

now we've got to really up the ramp.

They've ramped it up,

and he ended up with foot damage.

So, and stress fraction is a feat,

but all sorts of issues with his body,

because they just ramped it up,

and he just wasn't in a position helpwise.

I mean, the guy went from this to this,

and from this to this.

And so, again, these governing bodies,

they just see something and go,

"Wow, we're gonna look like,"

and it's like,

"Why don't we focus on what's best for the player?"

And then we'd actually probably have

a lot of long-term plays,

but no, no, no, it's,

when he won, or, or, or,

cut and burn, next one.

And so, that's a whole other subject.

We can talk about that, not that.

But Nick Curios, as far as I'm concerned,

is good for sport.

And when you say the question, sport,

you're good for sports.

And what I say is because,

he's able to learn how to learn how to express these days.

We've got a lot of very introverted,

very internal, especially because of the pandemic as well.

A lot of them too have no idea how to use their competitiveness,

how to be connected to their competitiveness,

how to be amongst an environment,

to learn how to behave,

how to get the mannerisms.

You only learn this stuff by, you know,

making a bad step,

falling on your face,

and then getting back up again.

You know,

yeah, he's a little bit of a bad mouth.

Yeah, he's a little bit wild,

a little bit crazy,

and he's a little bit out there.

But, you know, you've got to look at the history of sport.

The Beyond Board,

there was Joe Macri than that, right?

There was Jimmy Connist,

I'm going by Americans right now.

And he wrote it,

they were all like very passionate,

very out there, very in the face.

But that's part of competitiveness

that we need in this sport right now.

We needed a misfortune,

we needed an all-spore, it's for kids.

Because of where they are,

pandemic-wise,

I think the mental health part too,

Nick talks about, you know, being yourself,

learning how to express,

he's just learned how to express and get better.

And, I don't know,

I follow him on Instagram,

I think,

sometimes,

yet, some of these that put his foot in his mouth

or his mouth,

these give him a little backhand from Canberra

and give him a whack,

which I'm sure she does.

As an Aussie, I'm absolutely certain

that he gets the backhandist

and said, "What the hell,

why'd you speak like that?

Why'd you do that?

Why'd you brag about getting $500,000 in bond?"

Like,

there's nothing to brag about, son, you know?

That's actually an idiot laryton.

And you're better than that, right?

So, yes, we can talk about all that stuff.

But as far as I'm concerned,

he is a true,

not just the true Aussie,

but a true Samaritan,

as far as learning how to express,

learning how to focus on being yourself,

being in the...

And I wish...

I wish he had a little better direction

when he was younger to allow him

to manage what he was.

And he would be even more of a talent right now

for us in tennis,

and in Australia, and in sport.

Maybe, and if I can jump in here,

I don't know if that would have stifled his

interesting nature and stifled what he became

where I would picture more of a...

of a Safan type.

You take a guy who's just a little on the edge every once in a while,

and that's that explosiveness

that we want that can be great and can be...

can produce championship material,

but then take a great coach and somebody to hone that

and send that forward.

And that's where...

And I don't want to get into the...

should he have a coach?

Should he not?

That's not my...

It's not my role at all.

That's not...

Is he good for the sport?

That's not the question.

The question is,

does he agree with a...

Francis Tiafo, who might say,

"Hey, let's have people milling around."

And you know what?

If I don't like what that guy is saying in the crowd,

I should be able to hit a ball at him.

That'll be fun.

And just to change the sport

and modernize,

maybe not in a good way.

Dave Matthews recently has said,

"No, he'd go the other way.

He's the one he wants to clean it up.

Make it a little more old school."

But Nick leans into his personality

and how he is on the court.

And he doesn't have that stifled...

I'm trying not to smash my racket.

He just smashed his racket and he's fine.

I don't know that he needs to brag about it

because tennis still is...

Is it...

I'll ask this question, Justin.

Is it ironic?

Ironic's the wrong word.

Is it interesting that his best result

is that the most fancy, hoity, toyty,

keep your act together,

keep it in line event that we have in tennis?

Yeah, I mean,

if we really watch...

When he's performing and he's feeling good,

there's...

I mean, one, he's like being almost unstoppable, too.

He's unbelievable to watch.

And three,

he's...

It's a show.

It's awesome.

It's like...

We're just like, "Wow!"

You know?

And if you talk across the tour,

all the plays,

they all talk about how talented that guy is.

And they do not want a face him in the draw.

If he comes on, he turns on.

Right?

And they're basically trying to find a way

on the court to throw him off.

Because if not,

that racket is just making him...

That is causing a hurting.

So, and you never know when that thing's going to go hot.

But when it goes cold, it goes cold.

Oh yeah.

And so, I don't know.

Patrick Barrett-Toglouk says,

"His personality is what we need, and I agree with him."

You know, like, when we watch...

When the people watch, and they look for...

Look at...

People watching the less tennis on TV,

because they haven't looked for hours.

And they're more tuned into highlights

than any time before.

Right?

And a highlight doesn't want to see table tennis doing this.

A highlight wants to be...

Boom!

And they go, "Oh my, wow!"

You know?

I mean, one of the biggest shots that's on

all the time right now is Monk Fist,

Cross Pass, the net,

Slice, trying to understand how we get that forehand.

And just the mental saying, "Well, I'm just going to do that right here,

because the ball had to be there right at the right time,

and you've got a millisecond to say,

"Well, that's the choice I'm going to do."

And hit the shot of a lifetime that is just...

I mean, it's like a whole-in-one in your goal, basically.

What Monk Fist just did.

You know?

And...

So, I'd need curious to me.

It's a lot of whole-in-one.

He hit some pretty unexpected shots.

And, you know, Bernard Tomick, he was very similar.

He played the unexpected shots,

which people struggled to play against him,

but unfortunately, they got used to it.

But, but, he was...

That guy gets hot.

There's no getting used to that guy.

No, no, he's just going to be in your face.

And then the question is, is it good television as well?

You said there's less television watching,

more highlight-watching.

He's just a...

What we would call a human highlight reel.

Yeah, I mean, people tune into his interviews.

And, you know, I got a group of them.

You know, some of the media questions, come on, man.

Like, what are you going to say to him?

I'm going to talk about it.

Like, you know, some of them are so boring that he's like,

"Next question."

Come on.

Seriously?

And let's focus on the tennis, too,

because they're usually trying to bump in,

trying to beat him.

And how to tell him he's not even bragging.

He's not bragging.

He's just pushing back on what they've given him.

You know?

And fair enough.

You know, Trump did the same thing.

I mean, look at how many big names are out there

that just say, let's say they're peace

and say what they need to say back.

That most people don't say, but they want to say.

So...

Yeah, and that can be magnetic.

Meaning it can draw people in or push people away.

Yeah.

I will admit many tennis coaches are like that.

I'm definitely like that, where I'm going to say what I think.

Yeah, I feel like it.

I'm good with that.

I don't know.

Not everybody's going to like me.

Right.

So I mean, yes, there could be filters,

but there's filters in everything we do.

And if I lay out my pros and cons,

I lay out how much filter, how much non-filter,

I'd take this side all day long.

Would Nick have...

Yeah, I agree.

So, yes or no.

Is Nick Kerrio's good for the sport of tennis?

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

That's not a yes or no.

Absolutely, yes.

This is my journalistic side.

I only want a yes or no.

Yes or no.

Yes, yes, yes.

Yes, you feel both.

Yes.

Yes, yes, yes.

Well done.

Justin, you know, 10 minutes of tennis.

Well, there you have it.

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