Tennis: All the latest news ahead of the 2022 Australian Open

Nick Kyrgios has revealed he feared he had Covid after being struck down by a mystery ailment which hindered his breathing and almost derailed his Australian Open.

Nick Kyrgios withdrew from the Melbourne Summer Set. Picture: Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images

Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios has revealed that he feared the worst last week after he came down with a mystery illness that bore the same serious symptoms as Covid and left him struggling to breathe.

Bedridden for days, Kyrgios was convinced that he had contracted the highly contagious virus because all the telltale signs pointed to that as he began gasping for air.

But it turned out to be a false alarm and although he’s still feeling the after effects, he’s now recovered enough to make his return to the professional circuit in preparation for the Australian Open.

Watch Tennis Live with beIN SPORTS on Kayo. Live Coverage of ATP + WTA Tour Tournaments including Every Finals Match. New to Kayo? Start Your Free Trial >

“With everything floating around these days, obviously I thought it was Covid,” Kyrgios said.

“I was feeling pretty average. I was pretty much in bed for three, four days sleeping a lot.

“I struggled to breathe and was testing with these rapid tests and all this other stuff, I was testing a lot, came back negative every single time.”

Kyrgios, who is making his comeback at this week’s Sydney Tennis Classic after a four month absence from the tour, believes his respiratory issues were related to his asthma, which he was diagnosed with six years ago, even though he thinks he had it since he was a child.

Nick Kyrgios feared he had contracted Covid.

“My grandma used to smoke packs of ciggies in the car and her windows were real old, so it took me ages to roll down the window, and before that happened she had already smoked like two so I was passive smoking from a young age,” Kyrgios said.

“It‘s like I just couldn’t breathe. Honestly that’s what I felt like. I felt like I was playing basketball for two hours, playing tennis for two hours, doing gym, and I felt fine.

“I felt strong, I felt fit, and then when that all hit me, something obviously came on me and I was bedridden and I couldn‘t hit for half an hour and was out of breath

“I didn‘t feel good, felt lethargic, sleepy. God knows. I didn’t feel normal. That’s for sure.”

Currently ranked 93 in the world, Kyrgios is unseeded for this year’s Australian Open and has no real expectations about how he’ll fare, but thinks that may work in his favour.

With past wins over all the top players, he is looming as a dangerous floater who hasn’t given up hope of going deep in the tournament because he’s relaxed and adopting the approach that he has nothing to lose.

Nick Kyrgios is confident of making an impression at the Australian Open despite his 93rd ranking.

“If I‘m ranked 1000 or 10 in the world, I know what I’m capable of. Everyone knows what I’m capable of on tour,” he said.

“I‘m not a player that hasn’t proven themselves. I talk a lot, but I also have beaten a lot of players and I have won a lot of tournaments.

“That‘s not something I’m focusing on, honestly. I just want to go out there and have fun.

“I want to put on a good performance. It‘s the Australian summer. People are expecting me to put on a good show and I think I’m capable of doing that still

“Ranking-wise, I have won tournaments, I have won Acapulco unseeded and I beat four top-10 players.

“Everyone is capable of playing an amazing level of tennis now. I think everyone is an extremely tough draw. The level of tennis has never been this deep.”