Kyrgios At Australian Open: “It’s Good To Be Back.”

Nick Kyrgios
Nick Kyrgios (photo: Australian Open TV/YouTube)

MELBOURNE/WASHINGTON, January 11, 2025 (by Michael Dickens)

Nick Kyrgios, the mercurial Australian who has been sidelined for most of the past two seasons by a malady of injuries, is healthy again and is one of 14 Australian men in this year’s Australian Open singles draw. The 56th edition Down Under – and 227th Grand Slam tournament of the Open Era – begins Sunday at Melbourne Park, which is hosting the tournament for the 38th year.

The last Australian man to win the Happy Slam was Mark Edmonson in 1976, when it was played on grass at the end of the calendar year – and 19 years before Kyrgios was born.

Australia’s only active player to have reached a Grand Slam men’s singles final is the 29-year-old Kyrgios, a native of Canberra. However, he’s not competed at a major since reaching the quarterfinals at the 2022 US Open. Since then, Kyrgios played just one match in 2023-24 (losing to Wu Yibing of China the first round at Stuttgart in 2023), while dealing with knee surgery and a serious wrist injury.

Earlier this month, the unranked Kyrgios lost to Giovanni Mpethshi Perricard of France in the first round at Brisbane in the first match of his comeback. He also teamed in doubles with Novak Djokovic in Brisbane and they won their first match before losing to Nikola Mektic of Croatia and Michael Venus of New Zealand.

During his pre-tournament news conference on Friday, Kyrgios, a  seven-time ATP Tour singles titlist, spoke at length about his pre-AO preparations. He will play 86th-ranked Jacob Fearnley of Great Britain in the first round.

“Obviously, I had a really good return, I think a successful return to Brisbane,” Kyrgios said. “Had a lot of fun. Obviously, carrying the greatest of all time in doubles wasn’t on my résumé. Now it is. Yeah, had a really successful singles match against one of the most confident players on the tour.

“Went home for a couple of days, and obviously just tried to get a bit more under my legs. Hit some more tennis balls. Obviously, felt my abdomen a little bit.

“Today, this morning, was out there feeling pretty good. I’m actually hitting again this afternoon to test it out a little bit and see how it feels.

“As a right now, I still have three days before the tournament starts for me. Yeah, I’m just taking it day by day. Just enjoying all the moments again, being a part of the tournament, going through the hallways, locker room, seeing everyone again. It’s been an emotional time for me the last couple weeks. 

“Yeah, I’m just enjoying being back.”

Kyrgios spoke about how he’s handled the mental aspects of getting healthy enough to return to the ATP Tour after such a long layoff.

“Yeah, I think I was talking about this yesterday,” he said. “I feel like when you’re injured, people think you don’t play as much tennis and you’re not doing as much, but you’re actually doing a bit more.

“I feel like I haven’t been away from the game. Competitively I have been, but I don’t feel like that. I feel like I’ve been playing more tennis, more than ever. I think me trying to emulate the match load in training, the body getting used to it again, anyone that has had an injury that’s kept them out of the game for a year plus know that it’s so hard to load manage, because you’re trying to get ready for the match intensity.

“I think that’s what I was doing. After Brisbane, it was really encouraging. Obviously, my body was struggling a little bit. I was like, Okay, I’m going to try to build on that.

“Then, obviously, [I] had a little bit more of a setback. I think it’s just part of the game. Niggles. I don’t think anyone really feels 100 percent. Look, as long as it’s not something like my wrist again, I think I can manage it.”

With Kyrgios back, don’t look for tennis to become mundane. He can talk a good game – which he did last year for ESPN, during the Wimbledon Championships and at the US Open, as a pundit – and when motivated and healthy, can play with the best. He’s certainly entertaining – it not occasionally controversial.

“For me being personally back, I think it adds a bit of question marks to like what is going to happen today,” Kyrgios admitted. “I love that. Every time I step out on court, I don’t know if I’m going to be super controversial in a good or bad way.

“Throughout my career, it hasn’t always been good, but it’s added a lot of excitement to the game. I think it’s important. There’s so many good players on the tour now. I think there’s not so many contrasting personalities.

“I think it’s healthy that I’m back and I’m playing. Doesn’t really weigh on me, though. I’ve always been someone that’s played my brand of tennis, and I guess my personality. I haven’t changed since I was 10 years old. Anyone that knows me knows that I’ve been just how I am now.

“I think it’s good to be back. I think it’s important. I think the sport was getting a bit mundane.”

Around the Australian Open

Defending Australian Open men’s champion Jannik Sinner begins his bid to win a third career Grand Slam title on Monday. He will face No. 34 Nicolas Jarry of Chile in the first round. It will be his first match of 2025.

Should Sinner win this year’s Australian Open first prize, he would become the first player to successfully defend his first men’s singles Grand Slam title since Rafael Nadal won his first two major titles at Roland Garros in 2005 and 2006. Sinner would also become the first Italian player in history, man or woman, to win three majors – ahead of Nicola Pietrangeli, who won a pair of Roland Garros titles in 1959 and 1960.

Sinner was asked on Friday during his pre-tournament news conference how it felt to be back in Melbourne, where a year ago he won his first Grand Slam title.

“Yeah, it’s very special, special place to be back. Many, many things have changed on and off the court,” he said. “Very glad that these memories will always be in my mind for so, so many years.

“Let’s see what I can do this year. It’s a question what I think nobody of us can answer. But it’s good to be back here, and we’ll see what the tournament is going to say.”

Sinner was asked by a reporter why he chose to begin his new season in Melbourne at a major instead of playing a warm-up event in Auckland, Adelaide, Brisbane or the United Cup earlier this month. He replied:

“Because last season was very, very long. I played also the Davis Cup. After, you need some time to rest, to reset everything. 

“You have to make a certain amount of off-season to prepare it, to prepare your body in the best possible way, making some technical and tactical changes in your game. You need time.

“We decided to don’t play any tournaments before. You never know what’s going to happen, especially the first round. In a Grand Slam, you never know. I know how much work we put in, then we see how it goes. Yeah, you need a certain amount of the off-season.”

Other Media Day highlights

Katie Boulter – “Looking forward to starting a new season. I feel like I’ve put so much work in this last year, last couple of years. Going into this one, I’m excited for what’s to come. I feel like I’m building something.

“I think the start of my year has shown that already. Hopefully I can keep that momentum going. Yeah, it will be a good year.”

Alex de Minaur – “Yeah, it’s obviously just amazing to be back home, right? As Australian tennis players, we spend the majority of the year overseas. To get the chance and opportunity to start the year here at home in the summer, it just means the world.

“For us, every time I’m stepping out there, I know the crowd is excited for some tennis. They’re ready to get the year started. As tennis players, as Aussie tennis players, we want to do everything we can to play some of our best tennis.”

Naomi Osaka – “I think my mindset now is probably the most clear it’s been in a very long time. Obviously, I did pretty well in Auckland. Like, I know I lost, debatably lost in the final. In my head I kind of won it. For me, that’s definitely a new career stat because I’ve only ever been to the semis in tournaments before this one.

“I’m really excited to play here. I’m also excited to be here with Patrick [Mouratoglou] because we technically haven’t lost yet. So, yeah, it’s going to be a good run I think.”

Alexander Zverev – “Look, I think everybody knows what I’m chasing. Everybody knows what my goal and my dreams are, right? It’s to win. No. 2 in the world, going into a Grand Slam as the world No. 2, you have to have the mindset of, I want to win the tournament. That’s how my mindset is.

“I definitely want to play my best tennis. I definitely want to, yeah, go as far and hopefully win the tournament.”

Sunday’s AO order of play

By the numbers

• Wild card Kasidit Samrej of Thailand is the first Thai player to contest the men’s singles at a Grand Slam since 2012, when Dania Udomchoke competed at the Australian Open.

• By qualifying for the Australian Open main draw, Hady Habib becomes the first Lebanese player (man or woman) to compete in a Grand Slam singles event in the Open Era. Previously, Karim Fawaz of Lebanon competed in the US Championships in 1962.

“Quotable …”

“Yeah, it’s a 20-year anniversary I guess this year. It’s a nice number of years that I’ve been coming to Australia, the place where I had the greatest Grand Slam success.

“Back in 2005, it was the first time I qualified for any Grand Slam and played Marat Safin in the center court. It was a pretty quick match for me. He later on won the tournament, but it was a very unique experience that allowed me to dream big and keep on believing that I can one day win a slam.

“Three years later I won my first slam on the same court. Just lovely memories. I always try to relive those moments. It’s a pleasure to be back.”

– No. 7 Novak Djokovic of Serbia, 10-time Australian Open titlist, during his pre-tournament news conference, commenting on the 20th anniversary of his first AO appearance in 2005. He begins his quest for an 11th AO title and 25 Grand Slam crown overall when he faces wild card Nishesh Basavareddy of the United States in the first round.

 

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