"He's so smart on the court, he doesn't even need a coach" - McEnroe full of praise for Kyrgios

John McEnroe has praised Nick Kyrgios as "one of the smartest" tennis players that he has ever seen ahead of the Australian's first Grand Slam singles final.

Kyrgios has progressed to the Wimbledon final after the withdrawal of Rafael Nadal from the pair's last-four encounter due to injury. The Australian will play six-time champion Novak Djokovic in the final on Sunday.

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Undeniably among the most naturally gifted players on the tour, the 27-year-old has nonetheless struggled to challenge at the majors, with his attitude regularly questioned. He has, however, put together a strong run on the grass this year, and McEnroe believes that a more "professional" approach has helped.

"Nick Kyrgios is in better shape than I’ve seen in six, seven years," McEnroe said on the BBC. "He’s being professional; I love it! He’s one of the smartest people I’ve ever seen, on and off the court.

"He’s so smart on the court, he doesn’t even need a coach!"

Kyrgios was taken to five sets in an eventful first-round match with British wildcard Paul Jubb but has since produced largely consistent tennis, knocking out Stefanos Tsitsipas, the fourth seed, in a tempestuous third round clash. He will enter Sunday's final on Centre Court having enjoyed several days of rest after Nadal's withdrawal.

The Spaniard was significantly troubled by an abdominal tear during his quarter-final win over Taylor Fritz, and attempts to manage the injury during a practice session on the eve of his scheduled meeting with Kyrgios proved unsuccessful.

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McEnroe feels that the level at which Kyrgios is playing may have contributed to Nadal's decision to pull out.

"Rafa being the fighter that he always is, decides to play and wins. Was it going to get significantly worse? I don’t know the answer to that," said the retired American. "Could he have played? He beat Taylor Fritz at 80%. He was serving at 100mph most of the match.

"[But Kyrgios] is dominating Wimbledon in a lot of ways. His play… some of the goings-on, his history, his talent…do you really think Rafa wanted to play him at 80%? Something tells me he didn’t want to do that."