I don't think I'm ready for a full-time coach just yet, says Nick Kyrgios
Ahead of the new season, Australian tennis ace Nick Kyrgios has revealed that he sees no urgent need to hire a full-time coach. The 22-year-old is now giving less time to basketball, which led to his knee injury last season, and is focusing on getting back into shape for the Australian Open.
The mercurial tennis player has worked with Frenchman Sebastian Grosjean on a part-time basis in 2017, but an injury-plagued season meant that the Australian couldn’t capitalize on the good starts he made in the tournaments. However, in a recent interview in Brisbane with reporters, Kyrgios stated that he will continue to train without a coach until he finds a candidate who has his "best interests" at heart.
"I haven't got a coach and I think I'm just going to go about my thing the same way that I did this year. I've pretty much done it all alone the last three years to get to a career high of 13. To bring someone on, it's tough to know whether they're just doing it for the sake of getting a bit of cash or rather have best interests at heart.
“I'm not looking for someone who has a big name or anything, it's more trying to find someone who has my best interests and I can confide in. So far I haven't really met anyone that meets those requirements. I don't think I'm ready for a full-time coach just yet either," said Kyrgios as quoted by Reuters.
Kyrgios’ 2017 season has been a mixture of failures and success. After defeating Novak Djokovic in the Mexican Open, where he became the first player to defeat Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Djokovic in his first attempts, he lost in the semis. He had to withdraw from Indian Wells due to illness and lost to Federer in the semis of the Miami Open.
While he missed Wimbledon and the Washington Open due to injuries, his performances at the preceding Roland Garros was not inspiring either. His only good tournament was the Cincinnati Masters, where he was ousted by an in-form Grigor Dimitrov in the final. He also came under huge criticism following his exit at the 2017 US Open, where, after his loss to John Millman, he had stated that he was not dedicated to the game and there were players who were more deserving.
After slipping to 21 in world rankings in a season, Kyrgios has now assured his fans that he will try to be in good shape for the first Grand Slam of the year in January. He will warm up for the Australian Open at the Brisbane International before he playing Djokovic in Tie Break Tens, an exhibition of 10-point tiebreak matches.
“I was playing a lot (of basketball) through the off-season but I know it's not great
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