A sensational streak of performances within the latter half of 2022 noticed Nick Kyrgios ascend to the ranks of Grand Slam contenders, and because the Australian prepares to take to Melbourne Park subsequent month, he admits to having embraced the pressures of expectation.
After years of underachieving, the proficient however temperamental Kyrgios gained the Citi Open in Washington and reached his first Grand Slam singles last at Wimbledon, the place he misplaced to Novak Djokovic.
The 27-year-old, who gained the Australian Open males’s doubles title in January with countryman Thanasi Kokkinakis, additionally reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals, taking place in 5 units to Karen Khachanov.
His finest outcome within the Australian Open singles match was a quarter-final berth in 2015 and it’s protected to say his compatriots anticipate him to go a lot deeper on the season-opening Grand Slam this time round.
“… I completely understand going on the match court with all this expectation that ‘Nick Kyrgios (has a) legitimate chance to win a Grand Slam now,'” Kyrgios instructed Eurosport in an interview printed on Thursday.
“There’s a variety of stress there particularly having the Australian Open and everybody in Australia anticipating massive issues from me. It’s rather a lot to deal with generally. Being within the highlight shouldn’t be simple.
“I feel like I’ve embraced that and I’ve taken that challenge on. It’s not easy, I’ve really worked hard to try and channel it, internalize it and use it as fuel,” added Kyrgios, who’s competing on the Diriyah Tennis Cup in Saudi Arabia.
The 2023 Australian Open will happen at Melbourne Park from Jan. 16-29.
