Although Nick Kyrgios hailed Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal as “gods”, he said on Thursday there need to be people like him who are just “normal”. 

The animated Australian crowd-pleaser reached the Wimbledon third round by brushing aside Italy’s Gianluca Mager 7-6 (9/7), 6-4, 6-4 to set up a clash with Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Following his win, Kyrgios said, “Not everyone can be a Federer or Djokovic or Nadal. These are, like, once-in-a-decade athletes that inspire millions of people. Like, they’re just gods. I see them as that, too.”

“But you have to have some people, I believe, that are relatable, that people can bring other fans to watch, like people that are just normal,” the 26-year-old argued, according to reports.

“I feel like I’m one of those people. I’m Nick Kyrgios. I know who I am.”

Nick Kyrgios perfectly fits the bill of the cliche “Love him or hate him but you can’t ignore him.” He is box office for the sport.

Often in his career, Kyrgios has been accused of lacking respect for the sport and its traditions.

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But that doesn’t deter him. Kyrgios once described Nadal as “super salty” and Djokovic as “a tool” for aspects of his behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic.

When a brash, teenage Kyrgios announced his arrival in the sport by stunning Nadal at Wimbledon in 2014, he was seen as the sport’s next enduring star.

He has definitely been headline news but not always for the right reasons in a career littered with fines and suspensions.

Kyrgios knows his exhausting duty to entertain the fans too. “They know it’s a bit of a show. They just want entertainment at the end of the day,” said Kyrgios after his afternoon on a packed Court 3.

“It’s crazy out there. I have people in the front row literally coaching me, like literally telling me, That’s all right, good ball, great return, it will work next time, good depth.

“I’m like, Dude, what is going on out here?”

Supremely gifted, Kyrgios is often described as one of the best players never to have won a Grand Slam. However, he is happy with a career that has so far bought him six tour titles and almost $9 million in prize money.

The closest he has got to a Slam title is two runs to the quarter-finals — at Wimbledon in 2014 and the Australian Open in 2015.

“I’m okay with not winning Grand Slams. I know that’s going to make a lot of people angry,” he said, AFP reported.

“He should be doing this. But I shouldn’t, though. It’s not your life, it’s mine. I’m okay with just enjoying myself, putting on a show.”