“Its a lot to handle sometimes,” Nick Kyrgios admits feeling the pressure of expectation from home crowd ahead of the 2023 Australian Open


“Its a lot to handle sometimes,” Nick Kyrgios admits feeling the pressure of expectation from home crowd ahead of the 2023 Australian Open

Nick Kyrgios - FirstSportz

Australian professional tennis player Nick Kyrgios has admitted that he is feeling the pressure of expectations on his shoulders as he prepares himself for the Australian Open scheduled to start next month. The 27-year-old talented but temperamental athlete will be competing in front of the home crowd where he will be expected to go far and win the tournament. Thus, clinching his first-ever Grand Slam singles title.

ADVERTISEMENT

So far in the 2022 season, Kyrgios has had a productive year, especially in the second half of the tour. He reached the final of the Wimbledon Championships in July after Rafael Nadal withdrew from the semifinals. This was his first major final but he eventually lost to Novak Djokovic in a competitive clash. Earlier in the year he also claimed the Australian Open Doubles title.

Nick Kyrgios at the 2022 Wimbledon Final

“We get to see different people, different cultures. In the scheme of things, that’s not pressure but I completely understand going on the match court with all this expectation that ‘Nick Kyrgios is legitimate chance to win a Grand Slam now’, there’s a lot of pressure there especially having the Australian Open and everyone in Australia expecting big things from me,” he said in an interview with the Eurosport.

“It’s a lot to handle sometimes. Being in the spotlight is not easy,” he further added. Despite the pressure, Kyrgios feels he is ready for the challenge ahead, taking the pressure as a privilege. He told Eurosport, “I always believe that pressure is a privilege.”

ADVERTISEMENT

If Kyrgios succeeds to win the Australian Open in 2023, he will become the first Australian to win a major since Lleyton Hewitt’s 2002 Wimbledon triumph. For that to happen, Krygios would have to carry the form he had in the 2022 season and to be ready walk the extra mile.

Also Read: “I have won this tournament eight times, please believe me.” Roger Federer narrates the story how he was denied to enter Wimbledon for not having his membership card on him.

Nick Kyrgios speaks about why he chose to play an exhibition event in Saudi Arabia rather than competing for Australia at the Davis Cup

Nick Kyrgios

Current world no. 22, Nick Kyrgios has chosen to play an exhibition event in Saudi Arabia rather than competing for Australia at the Davis Cup. As per the professional player himself, he was not interested to represent Australia because of the lukewarm public sentiment toward him. “Maybe if Australia embraced me a little bit more, I would play it and bring home the trophy,” Kyrgios told AAP. “But who knows?”, he further added.

He also said that it was an “easy” decision for me, given the hefty pay cheque involved in the three-day Diriyah Tennis Cup exhibition event. “At this point of my career, I’ll always do what’s best for me,” Kyrgios said. The 27-year-old talked openly on the eve of the tournament, emphasizing Davis Cup was not a priority.

ADVERTISEMENT

Though a competitive athlete on the court, Kyrgios’s career has not been free from controversies. He is often known for on-court outbursts directed in the direction of the umpires. In the 2022 Wimbledon, he was fined US$10,000 for verbally abusing a line judge and spitting in the direction of a spectator. In the upcoming 2023 season, he would be hoping to put all that behind him and make the season a memorable one.

Read Also: “Not easy for me to erase everything.” Nick Kyrgios blasts a critic judging him about his decision of not playing in the Davis Cup

Read Also: “Tennis is not meant for you.” Emma Raducanu receives backlash for her latest Dior photoshoot