Australian Open 2023: Andy Murray believe Nick Kyrgios can break 47-year drought
One of Nick Kyrgios’s longest and most ardent supporters believes the Aussie No.1 is ready to break the Australian Open curse.
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Former world No.1 Andy Murray says Nick Kyrgios is “knocking on the door” of his first grand slam title and can harness hometown support to do it at the Australian Open.
The three-time grand slam champion is a big fan of Kyrgios, pointing out his performances at Wimbledon and the US Open last year showed the Australian was ready to win a major title.
“Last year he won the doubles here (at Melbourne Park) and then had a great run at Wimbledon as well, he was really close. And he wasn’t that far away at the US Open either,” Murray said.
“He’s been knocking on the door the past couple of slams and hopefully he has a good preparation and does everything to give himself the best chance. He can do it but it’s not going to be easy.”
Kyrgios pushed Novak Djokovic in an epic Wimbledon final before losing in five sets to Karen Khachanov in the quarter-finals of the US Open.
The Scotsman knows all about handling the pressure of a hometown slam given he won Wimbledon twice and believes Kyrgios can break a long drought on the men’s side of local victories.
“It is just not easy, there have not been loads of players over the years who have managed to win home slams,” Murray said.
“It has happened but there has also been big gaps in between it happening and I think maybe more so nowadays because there is just a bit more spotlight on the sport with social media and all of those things that you maybe feel it (the pressure) slightly more.
“Ash Barty managed to win last year but on the men’s side it has been a while. We had it in the UK, the US have done great with Serena (Williams) and Venus but on the men’s side it has been a little while so it’s not that easy as there is obviously pressure and expectation.”
Murray revealed the hype of playing at his home court of Wimbledon gave him a significant boost when he was triumphant in 2013 and 2016.
“I always found it helped at Wimbledon, the stuff away from the court is difficult and something you have to manage but when you actually get on the court, the pressure and the support and everything, it makes a difference,” he said.
“Look at other sports, when you get home support it is a positive thing in football or soccer, assuming in Aussie Rules it is like that as well, the home team tends to perform better. I think it is the same with tennis as well.”
Kyrgios is scheduled to play his first match of the year on Friday night against Djokovic in a hit-and-giggle for charity at Melbourne Park. He was forced to pull out of last week’s United Cup with an ankle injury.
Djokovic also threw up a scare for Open organisers on Wednesday after he stopped a practice session with Daniil Medvedev after five games to have treatment on his left knee.
There were no injury concerns for Murray in his first hit-out at the Kooyong Classic where he overcame a slow start to defeat Chinese young gun Zhang Zhizhen 2-6 6-3 (10-2 tie-break).
The 35-year-old is on the comeback trail from a serious hip injury which saw him almost retire four years ago. He has fought his way back to a ranking of No.49 and is confident his body is ready for the rigours of the Australian Open.
“For the last six or seven months from an injury perspective it has been really good,” Murray said. “I’ve not really had any niggles and stuff, just some issues with cramping toward the end of last year which was frustrating.
“But on the whole the actual training I’ve done was good. I’ve done a lot of hard work and worked as hard as I have for a long time.”
Murray will be back on court at Kooyong on Thursday to face Aussie Alex de Minaur.
DEMON KNOCKS OVER ANOTHER GRAND SLAM CHAMP
The scalps of four grand slam champions in recent months is why Alex de Minaur is declaring this his best Australian Open preparation.
While much of the focus inevitably falls on his countryman Nick Kyrgios, the mild-mannered De Minaur is ready to make some noise and improve on his career-best fourth round appearance at last year‘s Open.
Major winners Andy Murray, Marin Cilic, Daniil Medvedev and defending Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal have all fallen to De Minaur since September.
The win over Nadal in the United Cup last week confirmed to the world No. 24 that he was on track to make a statement at his home slam.
“I have always had it in me, this level,” De Minaur said. ”It was great to get that confirmation by beating Rafa, it is always good to have that in the back of your head when you are going into a Slam as this is my level now and it‘s about bringing it at the Aussie Open.
“Obviously I am very happy with where my level is at the moment, I‘m doing all the right things and I’m feeling well and it’s just about getting to Monday or Tuesday next week and feeling as fresh as I can to then go deep.”
De Minaur added a fifth grand slam scalp after defeating 2020 US Open winner Dominic Thiem at the Kooyong Classic, 6-4 6-4 in an entertaining display.
Apart from a minor scare with a scraped knee after one of his trademark desperate dives, the 23-year-old ticked all the right boxes in his first match at the iconic venue.
“It‘s just a little scrape of the knee, that’s what happens when you are trying to slide all over the court. It’s the perks of the job,” De Minaur said.
“It‘s no secret how much history and culture this amazing club has. I’ve been fortunate enough to be a part of a couple of Davis Cup ties as an orange boy, to just see the years of Davis Cup history here and Australian Opens have been played here.
“It is a special feeling and it was my first match on that court too so it was pretty special.”
The Australian is scheduled to return on Thursday with his final hitout before the Open set to be against Murray who plays his opening match at Kooyong against China‘s Zhang Zhizhen on Wednesday.
De Minaur has recently appointed former Aussie journeyman Peter Luczak to his team as he attempts to break into the world top 10.
“Peter Luczak is going to be a great addition to the team, he‘s one of the most positive guys out there and he’s done a lot of years on tour as well,” he said
“It will be a great little partnership and I will split weeks between my childhood coach Adolfo (Gutierrez) and now Peter. It‘s going to be great to just switch, do a couple of weeks here and a couple of weeks there.
“I think it is going to bring a different set of eyes which is always great.”
Thiem, the former world No. 3, is on the comeback trail from a serious wrist injury and received a wildcard into the Open.
“It has been an interesting experience,” Thiem said. ”Probably no top athlete will go through his career without a major injury.
“I had mine one and a half years ago on the wrist, which was tough, but still [an] experience which helped me. I‘m trying to get on my way back and let’s see if I can make it.”
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