I have never seen an umpire get off his chair to give anyone a pep talk – and I have been watching tennis on TV since the mid 80s. It’s also kind of ironic that the umpire would give one of the few players that don’t have a coach a pep talk. It’s widely known that Nick does not have or travel with a coach. This is not uncommon. As many can recall, Federer was the same way for a long time. Either way, the pep talk seemed to work. Nick was trailing a set and a break down before the umpire’s pep talk inspired him to get back on the court, break back, take the second set, and then breeze into the third round.

Never seen this before. Umpire had to get out of his chair and beg Nick Kyrgios to start trying in his match. pic.twitter.com/nk9k56yTrB

— Eric Hubbs (@BarstoolHubbs) August 30, 2018

The tennis world blew up with condemnation towards the umpire whose name is Mohamed Layyani. Some of the tennis channel’s announcers were more forgiving. Jim Courier said it was actually good for tennis because it was pulling in a lot of interest in the sport. I don’t know if I necessarily agree. What I do agree with, is what the umpire said to Nick, specifically the following:

“I want to help you…I’ve seen your matches.
You’re great for tennis…I know this is not you.”

It’s almost as if though this umpire said to Kyrgios what every tennis fan out there has been thinking for a few years. I for one can’t get enough of Kyrgios’ game. In my opinion, he’s the most talented guy out on the tour right now. I’m a huge fan. I have the blogs to prove it too. Here’s one blog dedicated to his Tweeners.

Nick should be contending for Grand Slams. This year is an important one in the development of a tennis player. He’s 23 now. He’s not a youngster. At this age, most of the greats had bagged their first Grand Slam. Nick has a tough test against Federer in the third round. It’s a totally winnable match. As much as I love Federer, I’d love to see Nick win. We need the future of tennis to show up. Today. Not tomorrow. Let’s go Nick!