"I probably wasn't taking the sport seriously enough" - Kyrgios on change in mindset

Monday, 03 October 2022 at 11:05

Updated at Monday, 03 October 2022 at 11:07

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byZachary Wimer

In 2022, Nick Kyrgios certainly shifted his mindset and it showed also on his results when he lifted his first Grand Slam doubles title and also played maiden Grand Slam final in singles.

Now, the 27-years-old Australian travelled to Tokyo as he will compete at the 2022 Japan Open in Tokyo, where he will be one of the top favourites to win the title. In 2022, he played a Grand Slam final at Wimbledon and quarterfinals as US Open and now he knows how to prepare for major tournaments and that the build up is very important.

"There's only so much I can control and I'm taking all the steps and dealing with that off the court," Kyrgios said. "I can only do what I can and I'm here in Tokyo and just trying to play some good tennis, continue that momentum and just try to do my job -- and that's play tennis, play it well. That's it."

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"I thought the US Open was a great chance -- obviously that one really, really hurt because I definitely thought that I was the favourite after I beat (Daniil) Medvedev," Kyrgios said. "Now I just have to wait until the Australian Open but I just want to keep my form, the way I'm playing, I want to keep that going. I'm doing all the right things so I definitely think I can win a Grand Slam, for sure."

"For a couple of years I didn't even get past the third round -- I wasn't training hard enough, I probably wasn't taking the sport seriously enough. Now, the last year and a half I've been training really, really hard. You can't just rock up to a Grand Slam and expect to win it. You've got to put the building blocks in and the foundations in place. I'm super excited to be here, that's for sure," Kyrgios concluded.