'Nothing Gets In Djokovic's Way, Kyrgios Lets His Mind Wander' Says Former No. 1 Connors

Jimmy Connors spoke about Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios recently, pointing out the differences between the two players.

In the past, we saw one meaningful showdown between Kyrgios and Djokovic as the Serbian bested Kyrgios in the 2022 Wimbledon final. Kyrgios won a set in that match, but he couldn't really do much outside of that, and according to former player Jimmy Connors, it's just a fundamental difference between the players.

Djokovic is known as a hyperfocused individual, and you can see that when he enters 'the zone' during a match. Nothing moves or distracts him, and he's fully invested in the goal. Kyrgios gets easily distracted during a match and it hurts him more than it helps him.

If you’re gonna be the best, you see Novak Djokovic, nothing gets in his way. He doesn’t wanna play basketball, he concentrates and focuses really just on his tennis and winning. Nick lets his mind wander to other things too.

Jimmy Connors on Djokovic and Kyrgios

And if you’re gonna be the best, I would think there are some guys that are different. Maybe Kyrgios is one of those guys but putting all your energies into being the best is important.

Connors identifies more with the Djokovic approach as he's been widely described as a really competitive individual. John McEnroe famously called him the player who most tried during the match, and that's certainly not a description you'd use for Kyrgios.

Even his words signal that he's kind of content with what he did in tennis so far which Connors finds fair.

Maybe he’s satisfied with success and what he’s done in his abilities and everything that he has going for him right now. I’m not criticizing, I’m just carrying on the conversation about what his abilities are and where he thinks he should be and could be.

Connors on Kyrgios