By Chris Oddo | Tuesday April 11, 2017
Nick Kyrgios was dominant over the weekend during Australia’s victory over the Americans at Davis Cup, and American Captain Jim Courier thinks it will be a recurring theme in 2017 if the 21-year-old stays healthy and keeps his head screwed on properly.
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"That's a player who can and should be top five by the end of the year if he carries that through and he's lucky with good health,” Courier told reporters after Kyrgios clinched victory for the Aussie by defeating Sam Querrey. “It will be exciting to watch, it always is with him one way or the other."
Kyrgios has taken his game, and intensity for said game, to another level this season. And he's established himself as one of if not the best servers in men's tennis. The Aussie leads all ATP players in percentage of service games won (93) and since losing in the second round of the Australian Open he has gone 13-2 with a pair of impressive straight-sets wins over Novak Djokovic.
Even in a recent loss to Roger Federer in a third-set tiebreaker at Miami, the Aussie turned heads with an improved on-court intensity. There’s more of a focus to his game, and he’s weathering the ups and downs of difficult matches much better.
It all adds up to a highly talented player finally fulfilling his vast potential on tour.
"When you see players with so much skill and charisma starting to put it together, it's exciting for everyone involved in tennis,” Courier said. “Maybe not the guys in the locker room who have to play against him, but for everyone else involved in the sport, it's a great thing if Nick can find his potential.”