Nick Kyrgios says result from his match against Thanasi Kokkinakis does not matter, as he will benefit either way
Nick Kyrgios of Australia trains at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Pic/Getty Images
In one breath, Nick Kyrgios talks about heading into the US Open with as much self-belief and good play as ever, coming off a runner-up finish at Wimbledon and some strong results on hard courts in recent weeks.
Faces ‘good mate’
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In the next, ever an enigma, the 23rd-seeded Kyrgios says he can’t wait for his stay in the Flushing Meadows bracket to be over, perhaps as soon as Monday night, when he faces his “good mate,” fellow Australian and doubles partner Thanasi Kokkinakis, so he can head back home to the other side of the world.
Asked what he takes away from the run at the All England Club in July, Kyrgios said: “The confidence in myself to be able to do it over two weeks. Staying in a single spot for two to three weeks can be exhausting. And to know that I can do that and go about things the right way and take every practice session, every recovery session, the right way, it’s confidence in the back of my mind. But also, I’m the type of player that if I had won Wimbledon, I probably wouldn’t have played the US Open.”
His first-round matchup might otherwise be a much-anticipated highlight of Day 1 at the year’s last Grand Slam tournament, along with appearances by 2021 men’s champion Daniil Medvedev (against Stefan Kozlov) and 2022 French Open finalist Coco Gauff (against Leolia Jeanjean) during the afternoon session in Ashe.
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Great opportunity
Some players will never acknowledge looking at the draw to see what could happen down the road in a tournament. Kyrgios is not one of them. He thinks he and Kokkinakis were placed in a “great section” of the bracket, “so whichever one of us advances kind of has a great opportunity to capitalise.”
Still, Kyrgios added, “Whether I win or lose, it’s going to be the same for me. ... It’s a win-win for me. If I win, it’s more money and another great result. If I lose, I get to go home.”
Since Wimbledon, Kyrgios won a doubles title with Kokkinakis in Atlanta (they were the doubles champions at the Australian Open in January), became the first man to ever win singles and doubles titles in the same year at Washington, and then beat Medvedev en route to the quarter-finals at Montreal, before petering out with a second-round loss to top American Taylor Fritz in Cincinnati.
“I was just so mentally and physically worn out. Mentally I wanted to go out there and give another good performance; my body almost didn’t let me,” Kyrgios said.
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