Nick Kyrgios says he has no love for tennis as critics slam effort against Andy Murray

By Andy Charles

Image: Nick Kyrgios cast a sullen figure during and after his defeat by Andy Murray

Nick Kyrgios admitted he has no love for tennis after his exit from Wimbledon at the hands of Andy Murray but said he would have no idea what else to do with his time.

Kyrgios played well for the first 10 games of his match against the second seed, and home favourite, but fell apart after losing the first set and eventually crashed out 7-5 6-1 6-4.

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The Australian faced criticism from greats of the game John McEnroe and Pat Cash, and he was in a sullen mood in a brief press conference after the defeat.

"I don't love this sport," said Kyrgios, who works without a regular coach. "But I don't know what else to do without it.

"One week, I'm pretty motivated to train and play. Another week, I'll just not do anything. I don't really know a coach who would be down for that one.

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"I'm just a little soft still. I think when things get tough, I'm a little bit soft. I've got experience, but it comes down to laying it all out there and competing for a long time. I didn't do that here at all.

To be honest, I woke up this morning and played computer games. Is that the greatest preparation? I don't know.
Nick Kyrgios

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"To be honest, I woke up this morning [Monday] and played computer games. Is that the greatest preparation? I don't know. But it was fun.

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"Every time I come here, I lose to good players. But it's just disappointing. I don't know. I just want to do better."

Kyrgios later became angry when asked if he could walk away from the sport completely, scolding his questioner for asking a "diabolical question" and adding: "I just lost in the fourth round, I didn't lose in qualifying. I feel like I am doing alright."

Image: John McEnroe felt Kyrgios did not do himself justice in the second set

Criticism was quick to arrive from former Wimbledon champion McEnroe, who told the BBC: "Disappointment would be an understatement in describing Kyrgios' effort, particularly as the match went on.

"He played a horrible point at 30-40 in the first set to lose it but that means you've got to dig in and show, 'I'm going to play even harder and I want it even more', instead of just throwing the second set away.

"He's got to look in the mirror if he wants to become a top player and win Slams now. Certainly based on that performance I've become more concerned."

Image: Pat Cash feels Kyrgios needs 'rewiring'

And Cash weighed in on the subject of his countryman, adding: "Sometimes you think about Nick and think he needs some rewiring. I don't think he is trying sometimes, there's no doubt about it, but that's the way he plays.

"People are watching that match and think, 'What's going on?' They might come away from it feeling a bit short-changed."

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