Australian Open 2023: Why Nick Kyrgios is finally ready to win Grand Slam
Nick Kyrgios has always wanted to put on a show, but ahead of the 2023 Australian Open he has shown a different side. Someone who not only wants to win, but now knows he can.
It was a rare reflective moment for someone who lives and breathes the now.
Nick Kyrgios lay flat on his back on the baseline, arms outstretched on Rod Laver Arena staring up into the sky. It looked everything like a practice run for a victory celebration.
It was on Thursday and there was no-one in the stands apart from some assembled media who had been summoned for an audience with Australia’s most divisive sportsman.
Kyrgios had just finished an intense practice session, shrugging off any concerns about a knee problem which had seen him pull out of tournaments over the previous fortnight.
That sort of behaviour isn’t unusual for Kyrgios, he plays less than anyone else on the tour but what became clear at the press conference which followed – it was to announce his ownership in local NBL franchise the South East Melbourne Phoenix – was that there is a different edge to him at this year’s Australian Open.
He not only wants to win, he knows he can win. Both of those things haven’t been in his thinking previously.
“I am one of the best players in the world so I’m definitely going into the Australian Open, into any tournament, with confidence,” Kyrgios said.
“This is the first time I have genuinely gone into a slam feeling like I am one of the guys that can really take the trophy and knock on the door.”
The old Nick was all about putting on a show, entertaining the fans and if he won, well and good, but it wasn’t the end of the world.
Not this year. The 2023 version has his eyes firmly on lifting the men’s trophy in two weeks time and there are plenty of his contemporaries, including hot favourite Novak Djokovic, who know if he locks in then that is a real possibility.
When asked about his practice celebration, Kyrgios said he can be “a clown at times” before going deep: “I am just a kid at heart and I just think it is insane that I was in Canberra as a young kid playing on concrete courts and then able to be the favourite at an Australian Open.
“It is pretty special so I just try to embrace every moment now when I’m out here.”
Twenty four hours later Kyrgios was again the centre of attention and this time the stadium was full with adoring fans who’d paid just $20 to watch him in an exhibition match with Djokovic.
It was a fun affair, lots of laughs mixed in with some serious shot-making which showed both would go into the Open firing on all cylinders.
Afterwards there was a brief Q & A where Kyrgios was asked again if he’d retire if he won a grand slam. He joked about wanting to eat and drink whatever he could but then let slip a rare moment of dedication.
“It’s a lot of training, a lot of work, and I just want to be able to eat whatever I want, drink what I want to drink,” he said.
“It’s a hard lifestyle. The dedication these guys show … I did a bit of that last year to show the world I’m still one of the best.
“But I’m going to try and do it this year and hopefully I can do it, but it will be hard.”
So when he put tennis at No. 1 of his priorities, the 27-year-old made a Wimbledon final – which he lost to Djokovic – and the quarter-finals of the US Open last year.
Something clearly clicked in his mind over the past 12 months. For the first time he saw the results of focusing on his diet, taking his preparation seriously and looking after his body rather than just playing video games and frequenting nightclubs.
Djokovic knows the local hero – who holds a 2-1 career advantage over him – is the main danger to him claiming his 10th Australian Open.
“As far as I’m concerned, he can win one,” he said.
A lot is made out of the fact that Kyrgios, the No. 19 seed, doesn’t have a coach but Djokovic’s mentor, former world Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic, believes the Australian is a unique case.
“He is a special case, Nick Kyrgios, he doesn’t need a coach,” Ivanisevic said.
Behind-the-scenes there is a calmer world around him. His mother’s health has been a constant on his mind which has seen him spend more time at home in Canberra.
His brother, Christos, had his first child last year which led his younger brother to talk fondly about his desire to start a family.
He has been inseparable from girlfriend Costeen Hatzi, a Sydney-based blogger and model, since they started dating in December 2021.
After defeating world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev in the fourth round of the US Open in September, Kyrgios paid tribute to his girlfriend.
“I’m trying to work hard every day, to make every session count. Before I would be out every night, now I have a great girlfriend, she helps me,” he said.
“And my team, I’ve got my physio with me, Will. My team, it’s all my team and I’m just really happy and I’m hoping I can keep it going.
“I don’t want to let them down, I’ve been on the road for four months, we all have families we want to see, I want to make this count.”
While there have been changes and improvements in many areas, Kyrgios is certainly no choir boy with his love of social media always a danger zone.
His withdrawal from the United Cup and subsequent slanging match with Australian captain Lleyton Hewitt was messy while it’s obvious his relationship with teammate Alex de Minaur is icy.
Kyrgios is proud of his involvement in the Netflix documentary Break Point which launched last week. He wants to lift the curtain about life on the tennis tour and happily gave an insight into his early struggles which included drinking every night.
That documentary featured adorable footage of Kyrgios the eight-year-old, a chubby kid from Canberra, dancing in a home movie.
Then, just like on the grand slam stage, the switch flicked and he turned to the camera flipping the bird.
“Someone like me, you saw in the Netflix documentary, I look like a potato for the first 10 years of my life,” Kyrgios said.
“How I’m portrayed, definitely not how the media has portrayed me. I’m definitely a fun kid who grew up in a very quiet sort of town with my family.
“To think I’m able to do that (be mates with Djokovic) with one of the greatest of all time is cool. I think my relationship with the big three is all different. I’m really close with Novak now, quite close with Roger (Federer) … and me and Rafa (Nadal), we just do that (nods head) when we walk past each other.”
US legend John McEnroe was asked on the documentary about the Australian who he said was the “most talented player” he’d seen in 10 years.
One of the box-office boy’s many arch rivals, Stefanos Tsitsipas, said Kyrgios was “not a bad guy … but he just becomes a devil when he enters the court”.
Big-serving American Andy Roddick, who was world No. 1 20 years ago, said he could only dream of having Kyrgios’ talent. But Roddick said: “He takes months off at a time … it’s like a hobby”.
That was the old Nick and former world No. 1 Andy Murray said it best when he was asked about what he saw in Kyrgios this year.
“I don’t think loads has changed except for getting so close to winning a major,” Murray said.
“My experience with that was that it makes you hungrier. I think when you get that close, you see the possibilities that it’s not as far away as you think, and maybe with some slight improvements, or slight change in mentality at certain stages, maybe you can get over the line.
“I thought that maybe after Wimbledon it might be a bit of a struggle for him because you’ve come so close to probably what would have been a dream for him, but he backed it up really well.”
KYRGIOS’ VERDICT ON LEAVING THE ‘PEOPLE’S COURT’
Nick Kyrgios says he is ready to graduate from his unofficial home court of John Cain Arena to take centre stage — but Australia’s No. 1 hope at Melbourne Park admits he isn’t feeling “fresh”.
Kyrgios, 27, boasts a commanding 12-3 record at John Cain Arena — he is 6-1 there since 2019 — but it would be a bold move for tournament organisers to deny Rod Laver Arena ticketholders the chance to see last year’s Wimbledon finalist and box-office specialist.
In previous years Kyrgios has lodged official requests to play on John Cain Arena, where he described last year’s crowd as a “zoo” after creating an intangible energetic edge to destroy Liam Broady 6-4 6-4 6-3.
But Kyrgios was then scheduled to play on RLA, where he fell to Russian Daniil Medvedev, while in 2021 No. 3 seed Dominic Thiem attempted in vain to have his round 3 match against Kyrgios relocated off JCA.
“I don’t necessarily mind (which court I play on) anymore,” Kyrgios said on Saturday.
“I’ve played so many matches over the last year on the biggest courts in the world.
“I’ve always got a little bit of a soft spot for John Cain Arena. I’ve had so many amazing memories on that court.
“The crowd is so rowdy and so much fun. My first round I might want to play on that court (but) if it’s Rod Laver, I’m OK with that.
“I feel extremely at home on any kind of court I play on now. The crowd in Australia is amazing. The energy is unmatched.”
Kyrgios revealed his US Open chances last year were hampered by tournament organisers continually scheduling him as the last match at night.
“I wasn’t getting to sleep until 3am, 4am every night, which was incredibly hard,” the quarter-finalist said.
While fellow Aussie Alex de Minaur relishes the pressure of playing at home, Kyrgios said it could be overbearing.
“I walked in here at the Australian Open maybe eight, nine years ago as a wildcard. Now to see how my career has unfolded, to get to a point where everyone kind of expects me to win and go far, it’s a good feeling,” Kyrgios said.
“But there’s a lot of stress, as well. I see it everywhere, on social media, everyone talking about it.
“How are you feeling about the Australian Open? You’re one of the favourites. It’s hard to kind of just focus on what I need to do.”
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