This game doesn't respect age. This game isn't interested if this is your home court and these are your people. This game just keeps asking questions. Insistently.
Just like Jacob Fearnley does.
Fearnley, 23, is from Scotland and lives barely inside the top 100. Nick Kyrgios used to live inside his rivals' heads. Now he can't. Now he's a 29-year-old, could-have-been-something, who doesn't even have the energy for his usual theatrics. His abdomen injury is making him wince, so are Fearnley's 17 aces, and Kyrgios trudges out of his Open 6-7 (3-7), 3-6, 6-7 (2-7).
Hours earlier at court No. 17 at 5.30pm Melbourne time, Lord Nick holds court. He hits a smash with the handle of his racket and unrolls forehands with a flick of the wrist at practice. He does tricks better than he plays entire matches. "Nick, Nick, Nick", his faithful shout, for he hasn't been seen at this Open for two years. His cap is worn backwards, his body inked, a man whose charm - for some has been found in his unpredictability.
But Kyrgios has played only a single match on the ATP Tour in two years. He hits louder shots on social media than he does on court. He takes on Jannik Sinner but not between the lines. He is criticised by Andy Roddick for being a mere tennis influencer. In short, he's a player spoken of in the past tense.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة January 14, 2025 من The Straits Times.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة January 14, 2025 من The Straits Times.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
SLITHERING DANGER IN AFRICA
The snake struck 11-year-old Beatrice Ndanu Munyoki as she sat on a small stone, which lay atop a larger one, watching the family's eight goats.
Bad Bunny to Stage 21-Concert Residency in Puerto Rico
Megastar Bad Bunny announced on Jan. 13 a 21-concert residency in his homeland Puerto Rico, with the first nine shows limited to the island's residents.
Sean Lau named Best Actor for record fifth time
Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards
Photographer Oliviero Toscani famed for controversial Benetton ads
Italian photographer Oliviero Toscani, best known for his work on Benetton's provocative advertising campaigns in the 1980s and 1990s, including one featuring an Aids sufferer, died on Jan 13 aged 82.
Jisoo to put out second solo release on Valentine's Day
K-pop girl group Blackpink's Jisoo is set to return with a new release, almost two years after her solo debut.
Kate Winslet shines light on untold war story
British actress' biopic of World War II photographer Lee Miller took almost a decade to make
Los Angeles' wildfires are taking down storied architectural gems
To live in Los Angeles is to be regularly reminded that much of what surrounds its residents is fleeting. That pertains, most essentially, to human life and the natural world, as the deadly fires have reminded people.
Unstoppable casts light on single mum's struggle
As they try to help their children, parents often have to confront their own failings. This is one of the messages of the biographical sports drama Unstoppable, according to its star Jennifer Lopez.
Why West End Hits Get Panned in New York
\"Praise the lord for Tammy Faye,\" American filmmaker Matt Wolf cheered in The New York Times when the Elton John musical opened in London in 2022.
Childhood vaccines are not 'overloading' the immune system
It is an idea as popular as it is incorrect: American babies now receive too many vaccines, which overwhelm their immune systems and lead to conditions such as autism.