The 21-year-old's performance at the Shanghai Masters was more than just a fatigued player throwing a mardy...
Andy Murray can always be relied upon to speak sensibly.
“I know we’re in a very privileged position and sport is great and we are very lucky to be doing what we are doing,” said Murray in Shanghai last week.
“But there is also a lot of pressure and it’s not always that easy to deal with.”
The perception is that professional athletes live the dream life, getting paid big money to do their hobby all day.
Let’s be clear: there are worse ways to make a living.
But that doesn’t make it easy.
The greatest sportspeople are the ones who have the resolve to practise the monotonous things over and over and over again.
They are the hardest working and the most driven.
That has always been the case in tennis, but never more so than this century.
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Murray are four of the game’s greatest ever players.
Their consistency has been freakish, their lives absolutely devoted.
And even though they are all obscenely wealthy, none of them do it for the money.
Being the best is their obsession.
Nick Kyrgios – for now at least – does not appear to share that ambition.
That is his right.
Anyone who watched him throw his match against Mischa Zverev at last week’s Shanghai Masters could see he did not want to be there.
For some, Kyrgios’ actions were made worse because they immediately followed his most signigicant tournament win at the Rakuten Open in Japan.
What could have possibly changed in those few days?
That, though, is exactly the point.
The contrast between his two performances hinted at something more serious than a fatigued star throwing a mardy.
“Whether a fine is the best way to discipline young players, I don’t know,” said Murray, who knows a thing or two about growing up in public.
“I don’t know if that stops that happening again. I’m not convinced about that.”
Yet despite that warning from the player who this year was elected by his peers to join its Player Council, the ATP banned Kyrgios for eight weeks – a total that has since been reduced to three after he agreed to see a psychologist.
The governing body, clearly, has to protect the integrity and financial interests of the men’s game.
But dishing out such an unsympathetic punishment – and effectively forcing him to get help – does not feel conducive to Kyrgios being minded to get better.
Federer and Nadal are past their best, while Djokovic and Murray won’t be around forever.
The generation behind them, meanwhile – Milos Raonic, Kei Nishikori and Grigor Dimitrov – have hardly trained on, either.
There aren’t too many personalities in the sport, but Kyrgios is one of them.
He is immensely gifted, too, rising to 14th in the world rankings despite the troubles that have blighted his early career.
It is in the ATP’s interests to protect him.
And even if Kyrgios decides against being the best player he can be, it remains their responsibility to ensure he is healthy.
Kyrios needs compassion, not crucifying.
