Despite being the fourth seed in this week’s US Men’s Clay Court Championships, Nick Kyrgios is sticking to the cautious side when it comes to his prospects of winning the title.
The 22-year-old is playing in only his second tournament since the Australian Open. In recent months he has been sidelined with a right elbow injury. An issue aggravated earlier this year during Australia’s Davis Cup tie against Germany. He returned to action at the end of last month in Miami, where he reached the fourth round before losing to Alexander Zverev in straight sets.
Kyrgios, who won his fourth ATP title at the Brisbane International in January, is making his debut in Houston this week. According to The Houston Chronicle, he is said to have been experiencing back spasms leading into the event. Although it hasn’t deterred him from competing.
“For me, I’ve been injured the last month or two, so just to go out there and get through a match without having pain is a success to me at this stage,” Kyrgios told reporters.
“Obviously, I want to go out there and win matches, win the tournament. I’m more than capable of that, but at this stage, it’s just more about making sure my body can sustain under match pressure.
“Going out there and practicing is different than going out there in a match situation and feeling that pain. So we’ll see how it goes.”
Yet to progress beyond the quarter-final stage at a grand slam, Kyrgios has still been tipped by many as a future star in the sport. Since 2014 he has scored at least 15 wins over top 10 players. Defeating grand slam champions Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. He also reached his first Masters 1000 final last year in Cincinnati.
Along with his explosive style of play on the court is his at times animated behaviour. Kyrgios has been labelled as a ‘bad boy’ in the sport for a series of fines for unsportsmanlike conduct. At his worst, he received a short suspension in 2016 for ”conduct contrary to the integrity of the game” during the Shanghai Masters. Despite those controversies, Kyrgios has insisted that he has learned from his mistakes.
“I feel like I’ve matured massively since the first year I was on the tour. So I think compared to the average 22-year-old, I’m pretty mature. This sport and the tour has taught me a lot.”
A win this week would reward the world No.24 with his first ATP trophy on the clay. His decision to play in Houston for the first time was one based on recommendations from other players. This year is the 117th edition of the tournament, which is held at the River Oaks Country Club.
“I heard a lot of good things about it. Obviously a couple of my buddies always play this tournament, told me, ‘You’d love it here’,” Kyrgios explained. “All the Americans said it’s an amazing tournament. So I gave it a chance and it’s been unbelievable so far.”
Kyrgios played his first match in the tournament on Monday in the doubles draw. Teaming up with Matt Reid, they lost their first round match to the experienced pairing of Daniel Nestor and Ivo Karlovic.
In the singles, the fourth seed will start his campaign on Wednesday against Bjorn Fratangelo. An American player currently ranked 108th in the world. It will be the first meeting between the two on the tour.
