Nick Kyrgios displays form to position himself as leader of pack

In the aftermath of Ash Barty’s French Open win, Nick Kyrgios is leading the way for the resurgent Australian men.

Nick Kyrgios holds up the trophy after defeating Daniil Medvedev after the final of the Citi Open in Washington, DC. Picture: AFP

Basking in the afterglow of Ash Barty’s French Open success, Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley had a wish for the world No 1’s male compatriots.

Tiley wanted the present crop of talents, ­headed by Alex De Minaur and Nick Kyrgios, to begin hunting as a pack, mimicking the spirit of the golden generation of Australian champions.

“One of the great successes of Australian tennis historically, more than anything, they pushed each other,” he told The Australian. “They were even more competitive with their mates than they were with others. There is a saying I like, ‘That hungry dogs hunt best and dogs hunt in packs’.

“That has been a great success of Australian tennis.”

De Minaur and Kyrgios, and others such as ­Alexei Popyrin and Thanasi Kokkinakis, have a long way to go to match the deeds of past Australian greats. But the leading Australian men have enjoyed an outstanding start to the American hardcourt swing.

A week after De Minaur won the Atlanta Open, his second title for the year, Kyrgios yesterday collected the sixth crown of his ­career with a dazzling display in Washington DC.

In toppling Russian Daniil Medvedev 7-6 (6) 7-6 (4), the 24-year-old won his second ATP Tour 500-tier tournament of the year following a success in the Mexican Open in February.

“This has honestly been one of my favourite weeks of my life. I have made massive strides,” Kyrgios said. “This week means a lot for me. It is great to get the win but I have proved to myself and a lot of people who are backing me that I still have it and can produce at the highest level.”

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Kyrgios is now the world No 27, reclaiming the Australian No 1 ranking he conceded to De Minaur last October, and positioning himself to be seeded for the US Open. He pocketed $544,580 for the victory in Washington to take his career earnings to $11.4 million.

After the victory, Kyrgios ­detailed how he had lost faith in his ability after a difficult summer that culminated in a meek loss to Milos Raonic at the Australian Open and a stinging critique from Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt. But he has rebounded strongly and played brilliant tennis when fully engaged, as he was this week in Washington DC.

“It is amazing. Where I was six months ago, some of the things I was doing, I was putting myself in a really tough situation,” he said.

“To be able to respond like this, having incredible support, it is amazing. I have people behind me supporting me, backing me, they never lost faith in me even though I lost it in myself.

“I just want to grow as a person, as a human, and if that comes along, the tennis will come with it. It is just small habits, every day, trying to get better.”

The right-hander has now won five of his six matches against top-10 ranked players this year after victories over Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Washington semi-finals.

His only loss came in a thriller against Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon, with his winning rate of 83 per cent against the top 10 in 2019 the best on tour.

World No 1 Novak Djokovic is the second best in this category, having won seven of his nine outings against top 10 players for a ­record of 78 per cent.

The Serbian’s most recent victory was the famous triumph over Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final.

Andy Murray, one of the few top men to have managed to dominate Kyrgios, is a close friend.

Before the Australian’s title run, the Scot said the Canberran was brilliant for the sport when fully engaged and he hoped that would occur more regularly.

“Everyone matures at different ages,” he told the ATP website. “Some people are ready when they are 18, 19, to deal with what comes with being a top athlete, and some people aren’t ready and it takes them a bit of time.

“I’m hoping that Nick will learn and be ­better for it.

“When he’s engaged in tennis and wants to play, he’s brilliant for the game. And when he isn’t giving his best effort and misbehaving, that’s not what people want to see. He needs to find that balance.”