Marseille Open tournament director explains how Nick Kyrgios can emulate Roger Federer

Marseille Open tournament director Jean-Francois Caujolle claims Nick Kyrgios can reach the same level as Roger Federer, if the former manages to control his emotions.

The 22-year-old has been backed to achieve success in the future, though he is yet to make it to the semi-final of a Grand Slam event, either in singles or doubles. He is currently sitting in the 15<sup>th spot in the ATP rankings and is tipped to win major titles going forward.

Kyrgios has won four career titles to his name out of which three of them were won in 2016 and the fourth one in 2018 in Brisbane. One of those three titles was won at the Marseille Open two years ago.

Federer, on the other hand, became the oldest men's singles world No.1 at the 2018 Rotterdam Open. The 36-year-old has been in fine form since the start of 2017, winning the Australian Open on two occasions and Wimbledon once to take his overall Grand Slam tally to 20 titles.

Caujolle has likened Kyrgios to a young Federer and has advised the Australian to work on his behaviour in order to be successful on court.

"He [Federer] did work on himself according to the objectives to be achieved. He went on to become smoother on the court, because that was the way to win. In a general way, on a court, it is not necessary to always let your emotions show," Caujolle told French newspaper Le Provence.

"His first quality is his charisma. That's what he releases on the court. A fiery temperament with ups and downs. If he were a little quieter, a little more mentally structured, he would be number one in the world.

"This was also the case with Ilie Nastase and also in some ways Gael Monfils and others who have not lived up to their potential.

"But remember, Federer was also expansive, nervous and angry when young because he did not reach perfection."