Promoted in the Wimbledon seedings, Nick Kyrgios has been anointed by John McEnroe as an All England Club wrecking ball.
Declaring the Aussie firebrand has the intensity and firepower to impact at Wimbledon next week, McEnroe is an unabashed Kyrgios fan.
Asked which player outside of the big four - Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal - was the most likely to create a stir, McEnroe said: “Kyrgios.”
“If I had to pick one guy to make a big breakthrough it would be Kyrgios,” he said.
“He brings this belief and intensity. He walks out there and there is something about him.
“It is not often you see that with a player, and it is nice to see. I am not exactly sure what he has done since he beat Nadal at Wimbledon last year in order to position himself so he is that much better and fitter. He looked to me like he just wasn’t ready or fit enough to deal with Murray in Paris. So there is still a way to go.”
Withdrawals from two grasscourt lead-up events, straight sets defeat to Stan Wawrinka and the split from coach Todd Larkham form an uncertain Kyrgios formline heading into Wimbledon.
And McEnroe warned Kyrgios has lost the element of surprise, as evidenced by Murray’s deft handling of the explosive all-courter at the French Open.
“I expected Andy would give him a little masterclass,” McEnroe said.
“The problem for Kyrgios is that over the last couple of years it is getting tougher and tougher for the teenagers — or someone around there — to go all the way, because these guys are so well prepared. It is so difficult to beat a guy like Murray best of five — especially on clay when he is confident.”
McEnroe predicts Kyrgios, 20, and Thanasi Kokkinakis, 19, will ascend into the world’s top 10 within “a reasonably short time” along with Croat Borna Coric and American Jack Sock.
“The four guys we are talking about just now are Nick Kyrgios, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Borna Coric and Jack Sock,” McEnroe said.
“Those are the guys you hope step up, and all four of them could be in the top 10 in a reasonably short time. It will probably take a couple of years. It is conceivable it could be earlier but it is doubtful.”
Kyrgios has been given a reminder of his grass court prowess after Wimbledon promoted him above Bernard Tomic in the All England Club seedings.
Using a formula based on a combination of ATP Tour ranking and grasscourt results over the past two years, Wimbledon traditionally shuffles the established order.
Ranked No 29 in the world, Kyrgios has been seeded 26th after his quarter-final finish last year.
Tomic is also a quarter-finalist — in 2011 — but that result falls outside the two-year window and despite his ranking of No 26 he is seeded 27th.
World No 22 Sam Stosur is 22nd seed in the women’s singles.
Defending champion and world No 1 Djokovic is men’s top seed ahead of seven-time champion Federer and 2013 champion Murray.
Dual winner Nadal is seeded 10th and is again likely to run into one of his three main rivals in the quarters.
Five-time champion and world No 1 Serena Williams is women’s top seed ahead of reigning champion Petra Kvitova.
The draw will be held on Friday night (EST) ahead of Monday’s start.
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