‘I can’t expect to play in the final every Grand Slam – but I want to’ – Nick Kyrgios on his revised expectations

The Australian has some big targets – but is trying to be as realistic as possible

Tennis – U.S. Open – Flushing Meadows, New York, United States – August 29, 2022 Australia’s Nick Kyrgios in action during his first round match against Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis (AI/Reuters/Panoramic)

Carrie Dunn

September 1, 2022

Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios is into the third round of the US Open, but isn’t entirely happy with how he’s playing in New York. He says, though, that he’s trying to manage his expectations – and those of the people around him – after his amazing success in SW19 this summer.

“I am relatively happy with my form,” he said after beating Benjamin Bonzi in four sets. “It’s not like I played bad or anything. I probably didn’t return as well as I would have liked. It’s so stressful now because every match I play, I’m kind of expecting to play so good. Such a clean performance is kind of not realistic in a sport like this where you’re playing day in, day out, travelling.

“I’ve got to probably the lower expectation of expecting to play like a Wimbledon final every time. There’s so many capable players who can play, so…got to be a bit nicer to myself, I think, and just lower the expectations a bit.”

Kyrgios: I really want to achieve

Having said that, being so close to a maiden singles Slam has given him the taste for more – and the long-time enfant terrible of tennis is acknowledging that he is playing for more than just himself.

“I feel like in this part of my career, I just don’t want to let people down,” he added. “I feel like I’m representing so many people. I know how much work goes into it with my team, there’s a lot of people supporting me.

“I just remember doing a press conference here like maybe three or four years ago, I lost in the third round, I just felt horrible because I kept not exceeding expectations, winning.

“So I’m sitting here, I feel like this is probably the most pressure I’ve had on myself. I know that I’m capable of going to a slam final now and I really want to achieve. I want to bring my team with me. I want to do it together.

“I don’t know. I just feel like, yeah, I’m definitely a perfectionist on the court. I feel like I can play like four or five great points, then I play one point and I’m going nuts. It’s okay, I don’t know. It’s hard. But I don’t know, I want to have success with certain people. I want to do it. That’s probably why I’m having such high expectations and standards.”

Kyrgios plays the USA’s JJ Wolf in the next round.