Nick Kyrgios has opened up on his drink problem and his “hurt” at racism in the new Netflix tennis series out this week.
And the Wimbledon finalist dated his unhappiness back to his instant fame following his shock SW19 win over Rafa Nadal in 2014. Break Point is aimed at taking the sport to a new, younger audience after the runaway success of Drive to Survive for Formula 1.
The tennis version, which is released on the eve of the Australian Open, gives behind-the-scenes access to a new generation of sexy stars like Matteo Berrettini, Taylor Fritz, Ajla Tomjlanovic and Paula Badosa. But the first of the 10-part series called The Maverick focuses on Aussie No.1 - and his struggles on and off the court - during his home Grand Slam last year.
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Teenager Kyrgios was the world No.144 when he beat the then world No.1 Nadal on Centre Court to reach the quarter-finals. “My life changed,” Kygrios recalled. “I went from no-one knowing who I was to people camping outside my house.
"That has changed everything. From that day forth the expectation for me being the next big thing was massive. My life was kind of spiralling out of control. Drinking every single night. First four, five years of my career, it was just so chaotic.”
His mother Nill said: “He just became aggressive. Always angry at something.” Kyrgios used to be regularly spotted at the Dog and Fox in Wimbledon during the Championships.
And his manager Daniel “Horse” Horsfall told the world No.22: “I would have your location on my phone. And some mornings I would have to physically go and find where you were. What hotel you were at, whose house you were staying at before tournaments, before a match. That was tough.”
Kyrgios has found happiness with girlfriend Costeen Hatzi - who he met “online” - and spending less time on tour. “I was like: ‘I can’t keep doing this. I just had to be kinder to myself.
"For my mental health, I could never be one of those players who played all year round. I couldn’t do that. I value my family and my close, close friends too much to put tennis in front of that anymore. I don’t think that is healthy.”
The 27-year-old, who won the Australian Open doubles title with his pal Thanasi Kokkinakis, has always been a divisive figure. Olympic swimming legend Dawn Fraser called on Kyrgios and Bernie Tomic to “go back to where their fathers or their parents came from” after their misbehaviour at Wimbledon in 2015.
Kyrgios said: “Racism. It was just another unnecessary thing to deal with. It hurt.”
Novak Djokovic ’s controversial deportation last year is brushed over in two minutes in the largely sanitised series. Liam Broady, while losing to Kyrgios in Melbourne, is the only British player to feature in the early episodes.
Episodes one to five will be available on January 13, with the next five released in June before Wimbledon.
