FILE PHOTO: Tennis – ATP Turin Finals – Pala Alpitour, Turin, Italy – November 14, 2022 Nick Kyrgios of Australia competes in the group stage doubles match against Neal Skupski of England and Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands REUTERS/ Guglielmo Mangiapane
A superb run of form in the second half of 2022 has placed Nick Kyrgios among the Grand Slam title contenders and while the Australian knows many expect him to head to Melbourne Park next month, he says he has learned to accept pressure.
After years of failure, the talented but temperamental Kyrgios champion won the Citi Open in Washington and reached his first Grand Slam singles final at Wimbledon, where he lost to Novak Djokovic.
The 27-year-old, who won the Australian Open men’s doubles title in January with compatriot Thanasi Kokkinakis, also reached the quarterfinals of the US Open, losing to Karen Khachanov in five sets.
His best result in the Australian Open singles was reaching the quarterfinals in 2015 and it is safe to say that his countrymen expect him to go much deeper at the opening Grand Slam of the season. this.
“…I totally understand going out on the field with all the expectation that ‘Nick Kyrgios[has]a legitimate chance to win a Grand Slam right now’,” Kyrgios told Eurosport in an interview published today. Thursday.
“There is a lot of pressure there, especially the Australian Open and everyone in Australia is expecting big things from me. That’s a lot to handle sometimes. Being in the limelight is not easy.
“I felt like I accepted that and I took on that challenge. It wasn’t easy, I worked really hard to try to convey it, absorb it and use it as fuel,” added Kyrgios, who is competing at the Diriyah Tennis Cup in Saudi Arabia. .
The 2023 Australian Open will take place at Melbourne Park from January 16 to 29.
BUT RELATED STORY
Continue reading
Register QUESTIONER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer and more than 70 other titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to news, download as early as 4am and share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
For feedback, complaints or requests, Contact us.
