Nick Kyrgios’ best mate and doubles partner Matt Reid explains what the Australian tennis star is really like

Matt Reid has been opposite or alongside Nick Kyrgios for many of his biggest on-court moments – and dramas. So what’s Kyrgios really like?

Not many know Nick Kyrgios better than Matt Reid. Picture: Getty Images

Becoming Nick Kyrgios’ best mate, travelling buddy and part-time conscience would’ve been extravagant odds for Matt Reid almost a decade ago.

Kyrgios was just 16 at the time of their first meeting, a second-round clash at the annual Australian Open Wildcard Playoff in 2011.

Reid was fresh from winning a Futures event in Bendigo, where he beat the likes of Sam Groth, Luke Saville and Alex Bolt.

He was five years Kyrgios’ senior and confident he could claim the Playoff and score a ticket to his home grand slam for the first time.

A blistering-hot Melbourne day greeted them, yet his teenage opponent – not yet a picture of fitness – strolled out in a Nike tracksuit.

Kyrgios was polite and respectful in their pre-match exchanges, but was screaming ‘c’mons’ in Reid’s direction within the first game. He ended up stunning Reid, 7-5 3-6 6-2.

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Nick Kyrgios and Matt Reid are close friends and regular doubles partners. Picture: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

“I was shattered, because I’d just lost to a 16-year-old, especially when I was expecting to do pretty well,” Reid told the Herald Sun.

“But a coach said to me straight after the match, ‘Don’t worry, that kid’s going to be unbelievable’.”

It wasn’t the last time Reid was part of a critical moment in Kyrgios’ early emergence. This time the scene was Sydney, in early 2013, and they were pitted against each other in an ATP Challenger final.

Kyrgios won again, 6-3 6-2, barely a month after claiming the Australian Open boys’ title over Thanasi Kokkinakis.

“I’d never felt like I had no play in a match until that day,” Reid recalled.

Both matches still come up regularly – even weekly, Reid reckons – on their nights out.

The two of them have, somewhat incredibly after how they met, become best mates, so much so that Reid spent the best part of two years travelling as part of Kyrgios’ team.

Nick Kyrgios and Matt Reid are kindred spirits and have never had an argument. Picture: Julian Smith AAP Image

The arrangement began shortly after Australia’s Davis Cup win over Czech Republic in 2017, when Kyrgios’ mother, Norlaila, asked if Reid wanted to come on board.

Part of the deal was because Kyrgios struggles being away from family, friends and home in general. It only ended because Reid wanted to have another go at playing more regularly.

“We never ever had an argument, which is really weird. We’re both easygoing and enjoy each other’s company,” Reid said.

“I’ll call him out on things when he’s not doing the right stuff, but more as a mate – not a coach. I didn’t do it often, but there were times he needed to be told some certain truths.”

He was with Kyrgios on the night the UK press criticised him for drinking beer at the Dog and Fox Hotel until midnight the day before he was due to face Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon in 2019.

Matt Reid knows Nick Kyrgios as well as almost anyone. Picture: Tracey Nearmy/AAP Image

Reid says it was blown way out of proportion and just Kyrgios’ way of staying relaxed before a big match.

They remain close and played doubles together at this week’s Murray River Open, as well as spending recent weeks training, along with Jordan Thompson, in Kyrgios’ home city of Canberra.

Their on-court pairing is unlikely to top their experience from the 2017 US Open.

Kyrgios had lost to John Millman in singles and a numb shoulder played a role in his late-match fadeout – but he still backed up to play doubles with Reid.

Reid was having his own dramas, spending several days that week in hospital with a bad virus and barely eating.

Matt Reid and Nick Kyrgios share a laugh during their remarkable US Open doubles win over Joao Sousa and Jan-Lennard Struff in 2017. Picture: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images/AFP

The combination of Jan-Lennard Struff and Joao Sousa won the first set 6-3, and a weakened Reid told Kyrgios he was going to pull the pin. Somehow, they came back to win in three sets.

“That was probably the best individual doubles performance I’ve ever seen, because I was diabolical and in the last game I basically stood off the court and said, ‘Nick, you serve it out’,” Reid said.

“It was embarrassing. People in the crowd were yelling out, ‘Come on, Kyrgios’ partner, do something’ and ‘Are you even professional?’.

“I was seeing stars and he just said to me, ‘All right, focus on your service games and just relax the rest of the time and get ready for the next one’, so I’d get through my service games shaking.

“It summed him up right there. He didn’t really care about winning, but he did it for me. That’s Nick.”