Roger Federer and Nick Kyrgios are arguably the antithesis of one another when on a tennis court, yet in 2020, the former gave a rather public endorsement for the controversial Aussie.
In fact, he even went as far as to explain exactly how he might win a Grand Slam title.
The Swiss superstar, who finished his career with 20 major titles to his name, certainly knew a thing or two about claiming these elite honours. There are arguably few better placed in history to make such a recommendation.
However, if Kyrgios were to do what Federer believed he could, the 44-year-old offered some crucial advice.
Why Roger Federer believed Nick Kyrgios could win a Grand Slam title
Speaking to the Australian press back in 2020, he indicated that Kyrgios had all the tools needed to win Grand Slam titles.
The 30-year-old was ranked 29th in the world at the time, and Federer admitted: “Nick doesn’t need to improve a whole lot in his game; he knows he can beat everybody.
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“With Nick, we know it’s elsewhere – it’s his mind – how much can he do, does he want to do?”
His big hope for the unreliable maverick, and the advice he offered, was to scale back his events but ensure he was at 100% when he made an appearance.
Perhaps, after so many injuries, he could heed that advice six years later in the coming campaign.
An argument for why Nick Kyrgios could still win a Grand Slam title
Whilst it seems incredibly unlikely, there is an argument to be made for Kyrgios perhaps being ready to win a Grand Slam title in the coming years.
That is, on one condition: if he can keep fit.
After all, once upon a time, he provided a unique and unpredictable kryptonite for the Big Three, boasting a positive head-to-head record against Djokovic and having lost just three of his nine meetings against Rafael Nadal.
He had the maverick quality that unsettled the world’s best, and at the moment, the ATP Tour seems starved of that.
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If he was fit and able to go deep with the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, perhaps his deft drop shots, huge serving and ferocious forehands could be enough to defeat the top two men on the planet.
Having played an exhibition earlier this month, and with Kyrgios due to play Aryna Sabalenka in a Battle of the Sexes in just two weeks, he is slowly returning to action at the top level.
However, he would have to stay fit enough to get to that stage, which remains unlikely given how little we have seen from Kyrgios in recent years.
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