Nick Kyrgios: I Was In A Dark Place At The End Of Last Year, Now I’m Enjoying Tennis

Nick Kyrgios is trying to do something last done by Andy Murray at the 2012 Olympics, and that is beat Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer back-to-back double today at Indian Wells. And it’s quite an accomplishment for someone who was just a few months ago dreading the tour and dreading tennis.

“Towards the end of last year, I was just going to places and dreading going, like just really dreading going to tournaments,” Kyrgios said Wednesday. “Didn’t want to practice, didn’t want to really do anything.

“My team was motivated but I wasn’t motivated.”

Kyrgios returned from his post-Shanghai tanking suspension in Australia but was dismissed by Andreas Seppi in Melbourne. And things continued to spiral.

“After Australia it was tough, as well. Obviously it felt like the whole of Australia was against me after I lost. Even though no other Australian did really well, but I copped it all, I felt.”

Kyrgios hit rock bottom, then climbed his way back up with some help from friends, he says.

“I went and spent a week with my girlfriend (Ajla Tomljanovic), and then Rusty (Lleyton Hewitt) called me up, Lleyton, and then he really wanted me to come play Davis Cup. And that was the best thing I could have done, come back and be with the boys, and I found some enjoyment practicing again.

“I don’t know what happened, something switched, and now I’m really enjoying it again. We still talk to this day, the whole Davis Cup team.

“I think that’s helped me the most. You know, having some people on my side and, you know, they have my back. So that’s been the key.”

Since Australia, Kyrgios is 9-2 with two wins over Djokovic and another over Alexander Zverev. And today he tries for a second win over Federer, who the Australian says, wasn’t his top idol!

“He wasn’t my idol,” Kyrgios said. “But out of the tennis players, my idols are probably Gaël Monfils and Jo Tsonga. Exciting players that played a lot of entertaining tennis and played aggressive.

“But Roger when I first started being in the locker room and seeing him, it was something special. He’s a great role model. Yeah, I like his style of game.”

Neither player has lost serve all tournament.