From Ball Boys to Bad Boys
By Matthew Woodhouse
Lleyton Hewitt, Pat Rafter and Mark Philippoussis were the players that I grew up admiring and celebrating with fist pumps and “c’mons!” in the living room at home. Emulating that tenacious brick-wall defense, practicing that iconic serve and volley and envisioning that as a 12 year-old my flat serve down the tee was travelling at 220km/hr were all big factors in my admiration of the sport.
These players have since left the game and have been replaced by a new crop that are just as brilliant as the three above that delivered our last Davis Cup win in 2003. Apart from the best of all time Chris “The Gooch” Guccione giving us some palatable match-play and Rusty continuing to play with heart until he needed it replaced at the age of 65, it has been some time since we have had so much talent on the men’s side of the tour.
The two most contentious and most talented by far, over the past few years have of course been the media branded Bad Boys of Australian Tennis, Bernard Tomic and Nick Kygrios. The public, social media and even the general media continue to tell us that ‘we’ arefed up with their antics on and off the court and I believe Disney aren’t far off dressing them in black and naming Tomic and Kygrios as co-captains in in the villainous team in The Mighty Ducks 4.
I have been an avid defender of this bad boy pair in my own circles for a few years and that used to involve pointing out their age and hoping that they would mature and be respected for the work they have put in to get to where they are. This defending usually involved reminiscing the time that “The Big Poo” won the Davis Cup with a torn pectoral and in the process won the support of the entire nation (until he became the American bachelor), which was followed by Rusty not being admired until he was out of his world №1 ranking.
These were great excuses previously however with Tomic now 24 and Kyrgios 22, the ‘lack of maturity’ excuses just don’t cut the mustard anymore.
When Tomic announced at a press conference in Wimbledon that he is lacking motivation with the sport, Krygios is brought into the conversation normally with some synonym of the word “flog.” When Kyrgios pulls out of a match with food poisoning his desire is questioned along with Tomic being labelled a “spoiled millennial arsehole” by some obviously incensed Herald Sun subscriber.
To me there is more to this than can be reported on by a transient press that drops in and out according to the Grand Slam calendar. Although I am finding it more difficult to defend Tomic and his arrogance. It is however, this same arrogance that led Tomic to becoming the best male junior in the world, after winning the prestigious Orange Bowl three-times, a monumental effort that was unprecedented. It is the arrogance and belief in himself that saw him in 2011 defeat Dolgopolov and Chardy at the Aus Open, and Davydenko, Soderling, Andreev and Malisse at Wimbledon to become the youngest player since Boris Becker to reach the quarters and jump to №71 in the world.
Tomic was the ‘it’ man of Australian tennis, ‘our next Rusty,’ yet at the time people were already questioning his arrogance and it is this arrogance that I believe is hampering him right now. It is his arrogance that will not allow Tomic to fight back into the Top 20 anytime soon.
He no longer trusts anyone. He has burnt bridges with Tennis Australia, the Davis Cup Captain and the Australian public. The same arrogance that allowed him to be the best in the world for his age is the exact reason he can’t succeed, that arrogance doesn’t allow someone to be consistently in the Top 20 in the world. Tomic is in desperate need of guidance however, now has no one to turn to for that direction and advice. Tomic genuinely feels the world is against him and I’m not sure if I can blame him for feeling that way or that he doesn’t owe the public anything. He says he is “bored” and “couldn’t care less” and despite his honesty is still lambasted by the Australian sporting community for being a brat.
Kyrgios is a different case. He is a little younger and a lot more sensitive. He was in the form of his life having defeated many of the best in the world this year and I believe he differs from Tomic in his passion and drive to achieve the ultimate success of a Grand Slam Title. He has performed outstandingly in ATP tour tournaments this year and it is only a matter of time before he puts it all together mentally and physically in a Grand Slam over two weeks. He has hired and credited new coach Sebastien Grosjean for his recent success and has spearheaded Australia back to the semi-finals of the Davis Cup with the help of Bec Cartwright’s husband (cue home and away theme song).
Kygrios’ tennis is electric, a force that when firing, almost no player in world tennis can withstand. Many say that he is victim to his own actions on and off the court. I believe his heart is in the right place yet there are many that will never allow Kyrgios back into their circle of sporting beloveds (as the likes of Stan the Man may still hold some grudge… but that’s another story).
I find myself riled up by the media when it comes to the reporting of the Bad Boys of Australian tennis. There is often no credit given to any of our promising stars for making it to the upper echelon of one of the most competitive and ruthless sports in the world.
Lleyton Hewitt and Pat Rafter won two Grand Slam Titles each in their time. It is often underestimated just how hard it is to consistently play on the tour, let alone consistently perform well. The ATP Tour is merciless.
I like that the public desperately want to see the resurgence of Australia to the top of world tennis. The public want our current players to take us back to that place that saw us claim countless Grand Slams and the second most Davis Cup victories through the likes of Laver, Court, Newcombe and Wayne Arthurs (ok maybe not him), but that was a different time.
For now, we need to try and understand the effort it takes to spend time at the top level, the sacrifices these players make throughout their entire lives and maybe just enjoy tennis for what it is: a display of incredible athleticism, inconceivable skill and dividing personalities.
