Nick Kyrgios ‘chills’ before Australian Open pressure hits

Nick Kyrgios pounded the pavement with girlfriend Costeen Hatzi in Sydney’s Double Bay on Tuesday, taking time to ‘chill out’.

Nick Kyrgios and Costeen Hatzi in Sydney’s Double Bay. Picture: Matrix

Nick Kyrgios pounded the pavement with girlfriend Costeen Hatzi in Sydney’s Double Bay on Tuesday, taking time to “chill out”, as the wave of grand slam pressure threatens to swamp him.

Kyrgios’s manager and confidant, Daniel Horsfall, explained to The Australian, “NK” was in a good space, ready to give the Australian Open a “red-hot go”, but he admitted life was about to get hectic for all involved.

“Honestly, the pressure of this year’s Australian Open, it’s a lot,” Horsfall told The Australian. “From the time NK wakes up to the time he goes to sleep, the media, sponsors, the nation; he’s feeling the pressure from everyone.

“I would hate to be in NK’s shoes. Fingers crossed, we, as his team, can make it the most safe and friendly environment internally to support him as much as we can at the grand slam.

“But NK, he’s doing good, he’s dealing with all sorts of things, like the regular pressures of the Open. He gets into Melbourne tomorrow afternoon (Wednesday).”

Kyrgios says Horsfall helped steady him, when he was spiralling out of control on tour. In Netflix documentary Break Point, to be released on January 13, Kyrgios pays tribute to their friendship and to his manager’s care.

In the first episode Horsfall reveals he used a tracking device to find Kyrgios when his life was “spiralling out of control”, leading to intense partying, often on the eve of important grand slam matches.

In a candid interview, Horsfall admitted “the team” could at times do a better job of curbing the pressure around the supremely gifted yet combustible Kyrgios. There had been concern around his physical and mental health after he withdrew last month from Australia’s United Cup team at the 11th hour with an ankle injury.

Horsfall said the pressure grows like a “mountain” on Kyrgios, a finalist at Wimbledon in 2022, but he brings his best to Melbourne Park. “We are still learning how to deal with it (the pressure) better, we know we could do better in trying to get rid of it, so he doesn’t feel it as much,” he said. “We are working on it and finding that sweet spot.

“The biggest thing we did as a team last year, that we hope to do again this year, is to not take things for granted. If we are healthy, then let’s give it a red-hot go. If he is injured; well, let’s get over the hump.

“Nothing has changed (from 2022), we’d like to replicate a similar year, you’ll see the same Nick, that’s for sure.”

Kyrgios, 27, lays out his life in front of the cameras in Break Point, detailing his mental health issues, and revealing girlfriend Hatzi helped him stop “partying”.