Nick Kyrgios is preparing to return to competition after spending two years sidelined by injuries.
Ahead of his comeback, the Australian shared his goal to “shut people up” by winning a Grand Slam title.
But former world No. 10 Arnaud Clement has brutally picked apart Kyrgios’ comments, claiming the 29-year-old is all “talk” and has “wasted his talent”.
Kyrgios will be back in action at the World Tennis League exhibition event in December to get some match play before his official comeback during the Australian tennis summer.
The former world No. 13 has been out of the game after undergoing knee and wrist surgeries, playing just one professional singles match. And he has high hopes for his comeback.
“I think the one thing that is now on my target is a Grand Slam. I think that will be the only thing that will shut people up at the end of the day,” Kyrgios told News Corp ahead of his return.
But Clement isn’t convinced by Kyrgios’ comments. The Frenchman gave the seven-time title winner a scathing reality check and claimed it was too late for him to lift a Major trophy.
“He has already reached a Grand Slam final. The problem is that nowadays he has to compete against Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and many other players,” the 2007 Wimbledon doubles champion told Eurosport.
“For me, that is just talk. I played a Grand Slam final and was very, very far from winning. There is a world of difference between those who are able to take the final step and the others.”
Clement lost the 2001 Australian Open singles final. And Kyrgios knows what it’s like to come close to Grand Slam glory – he was beaten by Novak Djokovic in the 2022 Wimbledon final after winning the first set.
But Clement believes it will be even harder now that Kyrgios has been out of the game for so long. He continued: “The difficulty is that he hasn’t played for so long.
“I don’t believe it for a second, and I didn’t even before his injury. Will he already be able to reach his tennis of 2022, which was by far the best level of his Grand Slam career?”
The retired former No. 4 thinks he already knows the answer, claiming Kyrgios wasted his talent when he had a chance. “It’s too late for me today,” he added.
“He was one of those from his generation who could undeniably win Grand Slams. And I think he was the only one of those with the talent who wasted it.”
Content Source: www.express.co.uk