Former Australian tennis player Darren Cahill recently stated tennis could use more charismatic characters like compatriot Nick Kyrgios and rising American star Ben Shelton, and his sentiments were acknowledged by Kyrgios himself.
Cahill, who now coaches on tour and is currently working with Jannik Sinner, compared Kyrgios and Shelton in terms of their playing ability and engaging personalities.
Tennis needs more charismatic personalities, according to Cahill
"He's like Kyrgios," said Cahill when referring to Shelton. "You like Kyrgios, you hate him, I don't care. On the tour, he brings something different & people will go out & buy a ticket, & watch these guys play. Ben brings a real joy in what he's doing on the court, he's not scared, he doesn't care who he is playing.
"I love him, I think the fact that Novak took him up a little bit for his celebrations was awesome. You can't have robots on tour, you can't have no personalities on tour.”
Kyrgios took to social media to share Cahill's comments, and seemed to agree with the coach's statements.
"Finally," wrote the 28-year old.
The former World No.13 recently gave his opinion on Djokovic imitating Shelton's phono celebration after their US Open semifinal clash, with the Aussie pointing out that those antics garnered more attention than the match itself.
"So what?!?!? Sport is entertainment. We aren't robots. More people spoke about the celebration than the match," the Australian wrote on social media a few days ago.
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Darren Cahill enjoyed Novak Djokovic doing the Ben Shelton phone celebration:
“He's like Kyrgios. You like Kyrgios, you hate him, I don't care. On the tour, he brings something different & people will go out & buy a ticket, & watch these guys play. Ben brings a real joy in what