By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Saturday, March 22, 2025
Picture credit score: Nick Kyrgios Fb
March Insanity is not confined to varsity campuses.
Arduous Rock Stadium residence of the Miami Open and the NFL’s Miami Dolphins is a multi-sport multiplex the place gamers kick across the soccer ball, some, together with Coco Gauff and Emma Raducanu, toss a soccer in warm-up and others obsess on basketball.
Following his Miami Open victory over qualifier Jacob Fearnley at the moment, Alexander Zverev was requested by Tennis Channel’s Prakash Amritraj to call the High 5 basketball gamers on the ATP Tour.
Zverev, who is nice pals with NBA star Jimmy Butler and who stated he grew up enjoying hoops at Saddlebrook in Florida, didn’t hestite when naming the ATP’s greatest baller.
That honor goes to Nick Kyrgios, whom Zverev stated generally performed extra basketball than tennis in his youthful years.
Olympic gold-medal champion Zverev named these 5 ATP professionals as greatest basketball gamers: Nick Kyrgios, Reilly Opelka, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Christopher Eubanks, aka Large Banks, and the top-seeded German named himself as No. 5 on the ATP beginning 5 basketball workforce.
It is not simple bleeding inexperienced, says Kyrgios.
In an article he wrote for The Gamers’ Tribune site titled “Why I Bleed Inexperienced” Kyrgios detailed how a child from Australia grew to become a loyal fan of the Boston Celtics.
Kyrgios recollects staying up all evening to look at Celtics video games from tournaments stops in Portugal and China. Kyrgios calls the deal that delivered his favourite participant, Kevin Garnett, to Boston one of many happiest days of his life.
“When the mega commerce occurred in 2008, and we introduced in Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, which may have been the happiest day of my life,” Kyrgios wrote. “Garnett is like my spirit animal. He’s my favourite participant ever.
“Each man needs him on their workforce, however no person needs to face him. He’s so intense. The way in which he approaches the sport is unreal.”
Whereas we don’t dispute Zverev’s decide of Kyrgios as greatest tennis baller, we should make a case for Gael Monfils as a pivotal participant on any ATP beginning 5 basketball workforce.
The explosive Monfils earned the nickname “Sliderman” on the tennis courtroom, however is actually a Skywalker on the basketball courtroom.
You could recall the time Kyrgio and Monfils confronted off in a sport of one-on-one with each males displaying masterful abilities.
Tennis and basketball share a famous historical past.
Corridor of Famer Billie Jean King performed basketball earlier than she took up tennis. Former NBA standout John Lucas performed each professional basketball and professional tennis with WTT appearances.
Former Boston Celtics standout Gordon Hayward was a two-time all-state tennis participant earlier than specializing in basketball. Corridor of Famer John McEnroe performed level guard on his faculty basketball workforce and fellow Corridor of Famer Pete Sampras not solely owned top-of-the-line serves and smashes in tennis historical past he might slam dunk a basketball.
