A mentally and physically stronger Nick Kyrgios is ready to face head-on his first Australian tennis summer with heightened expectations as he is boosted by the return of a former coach and a new resolve.
Kyrgios revealed how his Wimbledon campaign almost ended before it began because of homesickness and how he has revamped his training plan so he can compete with the grind of a full tennis schedule. The 19-year-old described 2014 as "strange" as he made his mark by stunning the tennis world when he knocked world No.1 Rafael Nadal out in the fourth round in Wimbledon in four sets. Kyrgios beat Nadal 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 before losing in the quarter-finals to Milos Raonic.
"There were a lot of ups and down," said Kyrgios, who announced a partnership with Malaysia Airlines on Monday. "There was a period before Wimbledon where I was going to go home and not play one of the challenger events. If I went home none of this would've happened. I ended up staying and having one of the best weeks of my life. That stands out. It's all happened really fast. I've had time to reflect on it now. It was a pretty full-on year. It's pretty gruelling being on the road, being away from home and travelling out of a suitcase. It's definitely tough.
"You need to become a good loser in tennis. You're not going to win every week, you're always going to experience losses. It was really tough."
He followed his Wimbledon heroics with a third-round US Open performance to help lift his season-ending ranking to 52nd. An ongoing left arm injury and a nagging right elbow saw him end his season prematurely. Kyrgios has upped his training as he aims to complete 2015 injury free. "I've flown a couple of guys from Melbourne to Canberra to train with me," Kyrgios said. "That's just to extend my sessions. If one of them gets tired, another one comes in. I'm doing a lot of gym work now and conditioning. Last year I was getting two to three hours on the court, now I'm getting three to four. My body is a lot different. Physically and mentally I need to get better. Transitioning to the net is something else I need to get better at."
Kyrgios split with coach Simon Rea to rejoin his junior mentor Todd Larkham. He'll kick-start his 2015 campaign at the Hopman Cup in Perth from January 4. Kyrgios will then play in Sydney before preparing for his second Australian Open. "There's a lot of expectations," Kyrgios said. "It gives me motivation to go out and put pressure on myself to perform. I'm really looking forward to it. There's a lot of young up and comers as well; Thanasi Kokkinakis and Omar Jasika. We are sharing the load a little bit and motivating each other to do well. Larkham was major for my development as a junior. Going back to him was a really good move. He knows what works for me and what I need to do to get better. We are always on the same page and that's important."
He'll head into the Australian Open ranked behind veteran Lleyton Hewitt (50) while Bernard Tomic is No. 56. Kyrgios was knocked out in the second round last year. "It's my last grand slam as a teenager," Kyrgios said. "I want to make the most of that. I want to go out there and play another grand slam in my 19th year, it's a good thing. There shouldn't be much pressure on me to go out there and play."
