Wimbledon’s grass was proving ground for Nick Kyrgios.
The explosive Aussie said his inspired run to last month’s Wimbledon final showed him he can contend for major singles titles—and that he’s playing Top 15 level tennis.
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“I think if Wimbledon had points, I think I’d be around top 15, top 20 in the world,” Kyrgios told the media in Washington, DC. “I definitely feel like I’m playing that level of tennis. If not top 10, top 5 at the moment.”
Indeed, Kyrgios needed only 59 minutes to dismantle world No. 53 Marcos Giron 6-4, 6-3 in his Citi Open opener on Tuesday night. Consulting a woman in the front row for serving direction advice, Kyrgios was in complete control.
Fan advice doesn’t always work here 😂@NickKyrgios | #CitiOpen pic.twitter.com/4hBAUyAWWN
— Citi Open (@CitiOpen) August 3, 2022
Kyrgios’ victory vaults him into a Washington DC Wednesday night showdown vs. Tommy Paul.
Chasing a Wimbledon title provoked pursuit of perfection in Kyrgios, who said he’s striving to be kinder to himself on court to tap his major potential.
“I just feel like a bit of a perfectionist at times. I’m maybe a bit too hard on myself,” Kyrgios said. “I feel if any singles player wins a match in under an hour, they are usually pretty happy.
“You know, I’m up like 6-3 and 4-whatever it is, and I’m still getting mad at things. I feel like that Wimbledon final has made me just obsessed with trying to play a perfect point every time when it’s not realistic at all in tennis. No one has ever played a match and they don’t make an unforced error. I don’t care if you are Djokovic, Nadal. Everyone makes unforced errors.”
“I think I’m going to be a bit nicer to myself and stop expecting myself to play the perfect point every time. I might miss a ball like this, I might double fault. I’m just really high strung and obsessed at the moment with my performance and playing well.”
Photo credit: Citi Open Facebook
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