Diriyah Tennis Cup – Nick Kyrgios: “The pressure is a privilege but it’s hard to be me”

He finally gave his best on the court. In 2022, Nick Kyrgios pleasantly surprised by his seriousness, his motivation and an awareness: yes, he was still able to exploit his undeniable potential, even after years of wandering where he had ended up becoming the caricature of him -same. By reaching the Wimbledon final and then the quarters of the US Open in particular, the Australian showed that he had the ability to go for a Grand Slam. Engaged in the Diriyah Tennis Cup, an exhibition in Saudi Arabia during which he will play a double alongside Stefanos Tsitsipas on Friday, he returned to his career this year.

For Kyrgios, the click happened at the start of the season. “I always thought Wimbledon was my best chance for Grand Slam success. The fact that I developed on grass in Australia was an advantage from this point of view, obviously. I understood more what I wanted. Winning the doubles at the Australian Open gave me a lot of confidence that I could be consistent over a fortnight. And I transcribed it to simple, that’s all“, he thus confided to our consultant Mats Wilander.

To do this, he had to resolve the inner struggle that often derailed him. So much talent and character have long been difficult to reconcile with the efficiency required of a professional tennis player. “It’s complicated to manage the public sometimes. But it’s the fault of my tennis. It can happen that at 30/30 or 30/40, someone shouts: ‘A spoon service, Nick! A tweener!’ At the time, I understand that. But otherwise, it’s hard to find the balance between putting on a show and playing to win games. Sometimes doing this kind of eccentricity cost me victories. But I like it that way. Wherever I go in the world, people support me and want me to have fun and put on a show. So it’s interesting and difficult“, he further noted.

Still, the wag has now shown that it was possible. More importantly, he proved it to himself. Currently 22nd in the world, he would not have been far from the Top 10 if the points of his epic at the All England Club had been counted. But this medal has a reverse: now the whimsical Nick is once again taken seriously. And in Melbourne from January 16 to 29, many will believe him capable of succeeding Lleyton Hewitt, the last Australian Grand Slam winner at Wimbledon in 2002. So how does he manage this new status?

Promises difficult to fulfill in Melbourne

“I still believe that pressure is a privilege. In real life, there isn’t much pressure in being a professional tennis player. We earn a lot of money, we travel all around the world with our best friends. We have the opportunity to see different people and different cultures. Looking back, you can’t say it’s pressure. But it’s different to enter the court with this expectation. In that sense, there’s a lot of pressure, especially with the Australian Open in the spotlight with everyone expecting big things from me back home. It’s a lot to deal with sometimes. Being in the spotlight is not easy“, he confessed.

And Kyrgios to develop: “It’s always hard to be me. When I win a tournament or something of value, they always want more. They never say to me: ‘Okay, it’s time to rest.’ It’s more like, ‘Well, do it again and now’. People will never have enough. From my point of view, I have achieved great things in this sport, considering where I come from. My parents arrived in Australia with nothing. So I know I’m happy with that. I want to achieve more for myself, for my whole team, but not for the rest of the world.”