Australian doubles specialist Max Purcell says Nick Kyrgios is one of the most exciting players in the game and someone who brings attention to tennis. Kyrgios, 27, often finds himself in the centre of controversy but the truth is that he sells stadiums and that his matches always feature a sold-out crowd.
“Personally, I think Nick’s great for the sport,” Purcell told Mirror. “He puts bums on seats. Every match he plays, I want to watch, especially when he plays against the top guys. Nick’s just Nick. He does whatever he wants, which is fine because he’s a popular person.
Everyone wants to watch him, everyone wants to be like him, and it’s not every day you get to see a person like Nick who doesn’t exactly put 100 percent in on the practice court—or even practice that much—troubling the best players in the world, and it just shows how much talent he has.
He’s still, for sure, one of the most exciting players I want to watch.”
Kyrgios wasn’t happy with Purcell’s Australian Open comments
In this year’s Australian Open doubles final, Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis defeated Purcell and Matt Ebden 7-5 6-4.
After the match, Purcell accused Kyrgios and Kokkinakis of “acting extremely disrespectful to their opponents.” When Kyrgios noticed Purcell’s comments, he reacted by saying: “As for Max Purcell, you donut, regarding your comments after the match, you clearly have no idea about entertainment and sport, If you you haven’t noticed there’s a reason why people actually come to my matches, it’s because the level and my game are actually worth watching.”
Purcell didn’t become a Grand Slam champion at the Australian Open but he and his partner Ebden lifted the doubles crown at Wimbledon. Meanwhile, Kyrgios fell just short of becoming a Grand Slam singles champion at Wimbledon as he ended runner-up to Novak Djokovic in the final.