‘Entertainment, regardless of winning or losing’: Kyrgios knows his role in latest comeback

2 months ago 14

Brisbane: Forget contending for titles, Nick Kyrgios is just out to entertain in his latest comeback bid and embrace being “a chaotic mess”.

Speaking to this masthead ahead of the Brisbane International, the former world No.13 said: “I don’t want to be one of those guys who hangs around the sport for way too long and leaves a sour taste in your mouth, where it’s like, ‘Oh, f---, he’s back. Can this guy just piss off?’

Nick Kyrgios was at his straight-talking best ahead of the Brisbane International.

“But I feel like I’m only 30 years old, and just because I turned pro very early doesn’t mean that I’m old, old yet.

“I’ve been selling out stadiums around the world, so I feel like there’s a lot of fans who still want to see entertainment, regardless of if it’s winning or losing – [they just want to see] something different.

“There are fans who think the game is boring right now, and they need some sort of drama … they want to see a show. They want to see entertainment. That’s what it’s about now – and I feel like I can add to that.”

Kyrgios, who turns 31 in April, said he was in superior physical and mental shape to this time last year after a whirlwind of exhibition matches in three countries, capped by his much-discussed “Battle of the Sexes” clash with Aryna Sabalenka.

“I feel like, no matter how much time I take off, or what events I play ... I’m always in the media for something, and I feel like I just can’t stay away from that,” Kyrgios said.

Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios ahead of their “Battle of the Sexes” match.

Knee and wrist injuries largely sidelined him since his career-best 2022 season, when he stretched Novak Djokovic to four sets in that year’s Wimbledon final before also reaching the US Open quarter-finals.

Persistent swelling in his right knee had prevented him from practising for more than half an hour, he said, before sudden improvement in September convinced him to take aim at another Australian Open despite fearing he had played at Melbourne Park for the last time.

Open boss Craig Tiley has spoken with Kyrgios about giving him a wildcard, but Kyrgios wants to see how his body handles playing at this week’s Brisbane International, where he starts against American Aleksandar Kovacevic.

Kyrgios will also play doubles with close friend Thanasi Kokkinakis, who is on the comeback trail, himself, from major pectoral surgery in February last year.

Kyrgios is adamant he has nothing to prove – and took umbrage to a question in his pre-tournament media conference in Brisbane suggesting he actually might – but told this masthead there were several factors in whether he would play in Melbourne.

“This is a great test,” he said. “The last month has been pretty full on, travel-wise, and I’ve barely spent time at home. I’m on the plane, I’ve been training, and I’ve been playing.

“We [Tiley and him] had a call, and I said, ‘Look, if I’m able to get through Brisbane and feel pretty solid about my performance and my body, then, yeah, I’m happy to tag on’.

“But it comes from me lowering my ego and saying, ‘I was once someone who played a final of a grand slam’ ... I was so close to achieving something that I’d worked my entire life for. But I’m just taking this week first, and seeing how it goes.”

Something else Kyrgios is wary about is taking the spot of a younger countryman who might need the wildcard more than he does as a career jolt.

He remembers how a John Millman injury opened the door for him to make his grand-slam debut as a wildcard at Roland-Garros 12 years ago. But Kyrgios said the crowds he played in front of recently were evidence that people still wanted to see him play.

“There are days when I look at myself in the mirror, and I’m like, ‘Do I really want to go out there and train, or put myself in that pressure situation again?’ I mean, I think we all have that conversation,” he said.

“I’m never going to play a full schedule again, that’s for sure. But anytime there’s a tournament in your backyard, you’ve got to try and take that opportunity, I think.”