There have been many times in his career when attempting to get a read on Nick Kyrgios has been like taking on Rafael Nadal on clay; a task almost inevitably destined to end in failure. But something has changed in the past 12 months, a year in which he reached his first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon. Kyrgios goes into this year’s Australian Open a changed man.
All players mature at different rates, on and off the court, and Kyrgios would probably admit that he has taken longer than most. But on the eve of his home Grand Slam, Kyrgios appears to be settled, mentally, as he tries to chase down a first major title.
It’s not going to be easy. No Australian man has won their home title since Mark Edmondson in 1976. With nine-time champion Novak Djokovic coming into the event on a mission after his deportation last year, with Rafael Nadal defending his title and a host of young challengers coming through, talk of the title is a long way off.
But there is a palpable feeling that this is a new Kyrgios, someone excited about being talked about as a potential champion, someone who, for the first time here in Melbourne, really believes in himself.
Reaching the Wimbledon final, where only Djokovic stopped him from joining the list of great Australian champions, was a “relief”, Kyrgios says, not least because his ability to produce his best on the big stage had consistently been questioned. “I always knew belief-wise that my level was there, but to be able to do it consistently was always the issue,” the 27-year-old said yesterday.
Wimbledon taught Kyrgios a lot, he said, in particular about how to deal with pressure. “I think it just kind of showed me how stressful getting to a slam final is, dealing with the outside noise, media commitments, balancing on-court, off-court recovery,” he said. “These guys that have won multiple Grand Slams, they’re just animals, not only physically, but mentally.
“I don’t get invested with anything before a slam that much anymore. Even during, I kind of just roll with the punches, just go where the flow takes me, try to perform when I need to perform. That’s it. It was a lot of relief, honestly, that I was able to show it finally at a Grand Slam.”
Had it not been for Wimbledon’s ban on Russian and Belarusian players competing in the Championships in 2022, and the ATP’s subsequent removal of ranking points from the event, Kyrgios would have ended the year inside the top 10. Ranked 21, he is the tournament’s No 20 seed, elevated one spot from his current ATP ranking following the withdrawal of world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz.
At his most dangerous when no one is expecting too much from him, Kyrgios will now have to deal with the fact that people expect to see him at the business end of slams. He seems ready, even if he admits it’s a balancing act.
“It’s a privilege to go out there and feel that Australia wants me to win and to be one of the favourites,” Kyrgios says. “It’s a good feeling. I walked in here at the Australian Open maybe eight, nine years ago, as a wildcard. Now to see how my career has unfolded, to get to a point where everyone kind of expects me to win and go far, it’s a good feeling.
“But there’s a lot of stress, as well. I see it everywhere, on social media, everyone talking about it. How are you feeling about the Australian Open? You’re one of the favourites. It’s hard to kind of just focus on what I need to do.”
As ever, Kyrgios has occupied plenty of column inches in the days leading up to the Australian Open, in part thanks to his star turn in the Netflix documentary, Breaking Point, which was officially released on Friday.
Kyrgios features heavily in the first five episodes, focusing on his run to the doubles title here with Thanasi Kokkinakis last year and says he likes how he is portrayed. “I’m definitely a fun kid who grew up in a very quiet sort of town with my family,” he said. “It’s obviously pretty cool to see how far I’ve come, but I think the later episodes as well, following me around Wimbledon, that type of stuff, will be super exciting.”
A knee issue ended his 2022 season early in October and a bothersome ankle hampered his preparations for Melbourne but in an exhibition with Djokovic on Friday, Kyrgios looked fit and confident. “I’m just really excited to be here again,” he said. “Obviously, after incredible memories last year with Thanasi. The year I had last year at the Grand Slams, as well. I’m excited to see how things unravel this week.”
