RJA wrote:

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I must admit I am becoming a little uneasy about how quickly Kyle is being pushed by some. There is no doubt that he has great potential, is very mature for his age and seems to have lots of good people around him. I am very positive about his prospects and will be very surprised if he doesn't make a decent career for himself. However he is currently ranked 372 in the world with just a handful of match wins apart from at futures level. The combination of wild cards into foreign ATP level events, a possible elevation into the Davis Cup team that seems a little premature and the general coverage of his progress that seems to be getting a bit sycophantic strikes me as a little dangerous. It is not hard to see how even the most grounded of young men could be adversely affected by all of this. I would like to see Kyle left to develop at his own pace rather than be pushed too far too quickly.

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Overall, I agree that Kyle should focus mainly on higher level Futures and Challengers this year. But I don't think the occasional ATP WC is such a bad idea. It will give Kyle a look at what he is aiming for and could be used as a barometer of his progress. And with regard to the media coverage on those occasions etc, it is a fact of life that if you are going to be a top sportsman, learning to deal with the media attention is as much a part of the learning curve as technique and fitness.

As for the Davis Cup, if the surface were anything other than clay, Wardy and Evo would clearly be ahead on points, in my opinion, with regard to selection. On clay, it is not so clear cut. I am not saying Kyle would be the obvious choice on clay, but I think the differences between them are much smaller and current form would very much come into the decision making process.  A strong showing from Wardy in Maui could (and probably should) still see him selected ahead of Kyle. But let's not forget that when we played in Umag, Croatia had no problem in throwing Borna Coric into the singles against Andy when there were much higher ranked alternatives. It doesn't seem to have done him any harm.

I think the key to the whole situation is what you mentioned in your second sentence - that Kyle is surrounded by a lot of good people.  The way in which they approach these moments in the spotlight is paramount. And if they treat them as a learning experience without too much expectation, I don't see a problem.