MELBOURNE, Australia — Love him or hate him, Nick Kyrgios is sweet for tennis, and the game will get a lift from his return to Grand Slam motion on the Australian Open — or so he says.
“We watch sport as a result of we wish personalities. … It is like drama, theater,” 2022 Wimbledon runner-up Kyrgios stated Friday, when he indicated he thinks he’ll be capable of compete regardless of a latest difficulty with an stomach muscle. “For me, being personally again, it provides a little bit of query marks to, like, ‘What’s going to occur at the moment?’ I really like that. Each time I step out on court docket, I do not know if I’ll be tremendous controversial in a superb or dangerous method.
“All through my profession, it hasn’t at all times been good,” continued the 29-year-old Australian, carrying a inexperienced hat in help of his favourite NBA group, the reigning champion Boston Celtics, “but it surely’s added a number of pleasure to the sport.”
As play begins at Melbourne Park on Sunday, Kyrgios is certain to be among the many gamers garnering probably the most consideration from spectators, media and different athletes, assuming, that’s, he’s match sufficient. He has performed two singles matches since 2023 whereas coping with knee and wrist issues.
He made it sound after a observe session Friday morning — and earlier than a second one deliberate for the afternoon — as if he might be prepared for his first main in additional than two years.
“It is good to be again. I believe it is essential,” Kyrgios stated. “I believe the game was getting a bit mundane.”
It doesn’t matter what anybody thinks of Kyrgios — and everybody, it appears, has an opinion — there might be little doubt that he’s something however boring.
That goes for on the court docket, from the booming serves to the between-the-legs photographs to the back-and-forths with chair umpires and spectators to the racket smashes and fine-drawing outbursts. Away from the tour, he by no means appears far-off from headlines both, together with when he escaped conviction on a cost of frequent assault when he pleaded responsible to shoving a former girlfriend to the bottom throughout an argument in 2021. Then there are the occasions when he gives his ideas, as a TV commentator or through statements at information conferences or on-line, that upset folks, together with these days about doping instances involving Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek.
“I do know that folks don’t love after I simply converse out about issues,” Kyrgios stated lately, “and [am] sincere about issues.”
The newest main event that Kyrgios was capable of take part in was the 2022 US Open, when he reached the quarterfinals.
He returned to competitors final week on the Brisbane Worldwide tuneup event, taking part in one singles match and becoming a member of Novak Djokovic for 2 doubles matches.
On the subject of Kyrgios’ expertise, different gamers are likely to agree with Jordan Thompson’s evaluation Friday: “If he is match, he is a contender.”
Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 US Open champion and a three-time runner-up at Melbourne Park, stated a wholesome Kyrgios is “positively nice for tennis.”
“I’d like to see him play towards Carlos [Alcaraz] and Jannik [Sinner]. His largest weapon is his serve, [and] he has the talents and the arms,” Medvedev stated. “I am solely joyful if he comes again to tennis.”
