Nick Kyrgios says his recent Grand Slam breakthrough at Wimbledon was a massive confidence boost but now he faces more pressure of performing at the big tournaments.
During the summer Kyrgios reached the final of the grass-court major where he led Novak Djokovic by a set before losing in four. Continuing his momentum, he went on to win his first title in three years at the Citi Open in Washington before defeating world No.1 Daniil Medvedev in Canada.
Kyrgios is hoping to continue his run of good form at the US Open where he is yet to go beyond the third round. In his latest match, he defeated France’s Benjamin Bonzi 7-6(3), 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, in a rollercoaster encounter. Kyrgios was issued with a warning for spitting on the court and complained about a member of the crowd who he said was smoking Marijuana.
“I’m a heavy asthmatic. When I’m running side to side, I’m struggling to breathe, it’s probably not something I want to be breathing in in between points.” Kyrgios said during his press conference.
“US Open, it’s a very different vibe to everywhere else. I feel like Wimbledon was so proper. Australian Open, you kind of expect it there, being an Aussie. But here, it’s just noisy. Point in, point out, I can barely hear. Half the time I can’t even hear my team because it’s so noisy all the time.” He added.
It is not the first time the tennis star has expressed issues with members of the crowd. At Wimbledon complained about a woman who he said was drunk. However, the individual has since launched legal action against him over that claim.
Against Bonzi, there were clear signs of Kyrgios’ frustration with certain points. Whilst praising the performance of his opponent, the 27-year-old says he expects himself ‘to play good’ in every match since his Wimbledon run. Although the perfectionist admits he needs to lower his expectations.
“I feel like in this part of my career, I just don’t want to let people down. I feel like I’m representing so many people. I know how much work goes into it with my team, there’s a lot of people supporting me.” He said.
“I just remember doing a press conference here (at the US Open) maybe three or four years ago, I lost in the third round, I just felt horrible because I kept not exceeding expectations, winning.’
“So I’m sitting here, I feel like this is probably the most pressure I’ve had on myself. I know that I’m capable of going to a slam final now and I really want to achieve it. I want to bring my team with me. I want to do it together.”
The current mentality of Kyrgios is something that even surprises him. In the past, there have been questions about his commitment to the sport and his controversial behaviour. At his lowest point, he was issued a suspended ban from the ATP for unsportsmanlike conduct.
“I didn’t think I’d be putting this amount of pressure on myself. Every day I come in, I watch what I eat and I try to get sleep. In every practice session I try and have good intentions. I almost don’t know who I am anymore to be honest because that’s not me. Trying to balance so many different things out. It’s hard as well.” He admits.
Kyrgios will play JJ Wolf in the third round of the US Open. Should he win he could play defending champion Daniil Medvedev in the last 16.
