Nick Kyrgios admitted he has struggled with fatigue and mental focus recently as his mind is with his sick parents back in his native Australia.
The 27-year-old has enjoyed the best run of form of his career, winning 15 of his last 16 matches before he clashed with Hubert Hurkacz in the quarter-finals of the Canadian Open. The only defeat in that period came against Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final, which highlights how impressive Kyrgios has been.
Kyrgios suffered a frustrating defeat to the Pole, with the outspoken star battling for two sets before he ran out of gas to lose 7-6(7-4) 6-7(5-7) 6-1. Hurkacz will face Casper Ruud in the semi-finals in Montreal.
It makes sense that Kyrgios is suffering from exhaustion after he won the Citi Open singles and doubles in Washington before defeating World No.1 Daniil Medvedev en route to the last eight. Ultimately though, the Australian was not fussed about crashing out of the Citi Open as he revealed the plight of his parents.
“I honestly don’t care [about the winning streak ending],” Kyrgios said. “I have been on the road for nearly three months and I’ve been away from home, away from my mom who is in hospital, away from my dad. They’re not very well at the moment. So I don’t really care about no winning streak.
“When I am on the road I just want to put in good performances and make it worthwhile being here. I don’t care about records and that sort of stuff. I just want to make the most of my trip.
“I’ve got two more tournaments [Cincinnati and the US Open] left before I can go home.”
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Against Hurkacz, Kyrgios battled through two tie breakers to settle the opening two sets before he was blown away in the all-important final set. Fans pointed to the long bathroom break the Pole took in the middle of the deciding set as being unfair, but Kyrgios didn’t make any such excuse.
“My body hasn’t been feeling great the last week,” he added. “When you stop playing for five, 10 minutes, it doesn’t help your body. My body was so stiff after that; I couldn’t move properly. My abdominal was hurting.
“It’s within the rules [toilet breaks], so I’m not going to complain. I just completely stiffened up.”
The 27-year-old was noticeably fatigued against Hurkacz but it was his win over Alex de Minaur in the previous round that proved to be far more notable. His 6-2 6-3 victory ensured Kyrgios will be seeded at the US Open, the fourth and final Grand Slam of 2022.
Kyrgios will face exciting Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the first round of the Cincinnati Masters as he seeks to hone his craft ahead of the US Open. The 2022 US Open main draw begins on Monday August 29 and runs for two weeks in New York.
