Kyrgios inspires next generation of Douglas tennis stars
Kyrgios inspires next generation of Douglas tennis stars
Thursday June 3 2014, 2:23m
Nick Kyrgios’s fantastic run at Wimbldeon might be over but the 19-year-old has already inspired young players across the country, including at Port Douglas Tennis Club.
Kyrgios made international news on Tuesday when he beat World 1# player Rafael Nadal with a million-to-one between-the legs shot.
Although Kyrgios was knocked out of Wimbledon this morning after a four-set defeat by Canadian Milos Raonic, his fairytale story at the world’s premier tennis championship has already inspired young players at Port Douglas Tennis club.
The Newsport spoke to 9-year-old Seth Gray, 12-year-old Cassie Jansen and 13-year-old Emma Hudson about what they thought of Kyrgios and his Wimbledon run.
Since the games were shown after midnight none of the players could watch the game live but they have been playing close attention to the replays when they get a chance.
Seth said watching Kyrgios was a chance to observe high-end play techniques as well as an inspiration to him.
“I think we can learn a lot by watching him on TV and using the tricks that he does during games,” he said.
Cassie tried to put herself into Kyrgios’s mindset when he stepped up to face Nadal.
“The way I see it, he already had nothing to lose so he just tried his best,” she said.
“It really worked because Nadal was looking worried straight away.”
Allan Lang coaches the kids at Port Douglas Tennis Club and said Kyrgios’s achievements were important for inspiring current young players and novices alike.
“Its very important for a sport like tennis to have inspirational young players like Nick Kyrgios, Pat Rafter and Leighton Hewitt,” Mr Lang said.
“Kids who play already can look at this guys and think ‘maybe I could do that’.
“The other factor is that the kids that don’t play see it on TV and the idea of trying tennis goes up a couple of places in their heads when they’re thinking about what sports to choose.
Mr Lang, who counts Cassie, Emma and Seth amongst his best players, said they all had their own individual strengths and weaknesses.
“Cassie is very consistent defensively and plays from the baseline - she’s actually a lot like Nadal generally but like Kyrgios she has a good ‘touch’, so she can be subtle and slip in the ball,” he said.
“Emma, on the other hand, is very different to Nadal and is aggressive on the attack.
“Seth plays aggressively but he hustles as well - he’s got a good mind for tactics and finding weak points in his opponent.”
All three kids have been bumped up in the club’s categorisation system and will be facing off against players up to 18 years old when games begin again after the school holidays.
“I think I’m pretty warmed up for this tournament because I had some good wins down in Cairns recently,” Seth said.
“But winning doesn’t come easily.”
Mr Lang added that the club is hoping to attract some sponsors to enable all its young players to attend more external tournaments.