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WIMBLEDONJune 29, 2015Nick KyrgiosLONDON, ENGLAND N. KYRGIOS/D. Schwartzman THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Nice start to the tournament? NICK KYRGIOS: Yeah, I was really pleased with the way I came out. The first two sets I thought were really, really solid. Obviously I haven't been playing much tennis, many matches anyway. To get a win and in straight sets is a lot of confidence for me. Q. What was it like going back on to the same court where you play Richard last year? NICK KYRGIOS: It was good. In the warmup I was definitely thinking about it, getting a feel for the court. Last year, those first two sets against Richard last year, I started really slow. I wanted to make sure I got my feet moving and then really came out aggressive and I thought I did that well. Q. Do you enjoy the support you get, the Aussies? NICK KYRGIOS: Yeah, I think they're pretty cool. When I get out there and I hear them singing all those sort of songs, knowing they're supporting me and behind me, it does help out there, especially when there's big points. Sometimes they do remind you. When they do, they start talking about serve and stuff like that. It was good. Q. Was it tough to hold your control, fell back 4‑2, had a talk with the umpire? NICK KYRGIOS: Yeah, I mean it's always tough. There's a lot of pressure out there. Sometimes you get lost in the heat of the moment a little bit. I thought the call was wrong, to be honest. I thought it was a replay. I broke straight back. That's a good sign. I could easily have let the set turn and focus on the fourth set, but I thought I fought back well. Q. You seem like a different force on grass. NICK KYRGIOS: Different force? Q. It seems to suit your weapons. Is it your favorite surface? NICK KYRGIOS: Uhm, I wouldn't call it my favorite surface, but I think it does suit my game well. Obviously it favors bigger servers, and people try not to be aggressive. I thought I did that well today. This is my second time playing main draw. Obviously after last year, I've got great confidence on this surface. See we'll see how it goes. Still a long career ahead hopefully. Q. After you had that discussion with the umpire, you seemed to say 'dirty scum' out loud. What was that about? NICK KYRGIOS: I wasn't referring to the ref at all there. Yeah, I mean, it was towards myself. But, yeah, I mean, obviously I knew you guys were going to ask me about that. Q. Do you fear you might be now fined for saying something like that? What would be your reaction to that? NICK KYRGIOS: Wouldn't bother me one bit. Q. You were talking about basketball the other day. Did you see the NBA Championships? NICK KYRGIOS: Of course, I did. Q. Could you talk about what you could learn from LeBron and what you can learn from Steph Curry or the Warriors? NICK KYRGIOS: Well, I don't really like the Warriors, so I'm not going to talk about them. I think LeBron is, hands down, the best player in the world. I think any person looks up to him. He's got great confidence. He works really hard. He doesn't care what people think about him. He just does his job every day. Q. What aspect of the Warriors don't you like? NICK KYRGIOS: I just don't like the team. I don't like the fact that they won. I wish the Boston Celtics won, but that's not realistic, is it? I just don't like the team. Q. This time last year you were 144 in the world. Where do you think your game has improved? NICK KYRGIOS: I think physicality is a massive one. Three or four years ago I couldn't really move around a tennis court. Massive improvements there. I think just confidence definitely, you know, competing with the top guys, winning some of these close matches, I think that's given me massive confidence. I've just improved in a lot of areas in my game. Q. Why did you refer to yourself as dirty scum? NICK KYRGIOS: Why are you so caught up about the question? Q. It was an interesting thing to call yourself. NICK KYRGIOS: 'Cause I can. Q. Back to the basketball. In that article where you were talking about enjoying watching it, you also said you liked to play it a lot. You liked watching NBA better than tennis. What would you do to change tennis and make it more of something that would appeal on TV? NICK KYRGIOS: It's a good question. Yeah, I mean, I just love basketball as a sport. I think it's exciting. It's always exciting. Always something happening. There were parts of today where it was really quiet in my match. I just enjoy the whole aspect of the team environment. I'm wearing a shooting sleeve on my left arm for some reason this week. I don't really know. Q. After that incident with the umpire, you spoke to someone. What was said to you about the call? NICK KYRGIOS: I just wanted to get the guy that was in charge of the referees. He was already sitting out there. I'm not too fussed about the call to be honest, but if it was more a crucial time in the match, or deeper in the tournament, that could swing things. Shouldn't be something that can be taken lightly. You got to make the right call there. Q. What did he say to you there? NICK KYRGIOS: He knew it was a replay, the guy sitting off the court. He ultimately said, It's the ref's call. Really couldn't do anything about it. Q. Like you said, this is just your second main draw here. You haven't had that many main draws in all the slams yet. You have two quarterfinal appearances. How experienced do you feel you are? When you come here, do you still feel you don't have that much experience? NICK KYRGIOS: Well, you know, this time around, I felt I experience before. Being two sets to love down at Wimbledon, coming back, I've done that. Winning a tight first round last year, I've done that. Beating the No.1 player in the world on Centre Court, I've done that. I just feel I am maybe more comfortable this time around. Maybe not so experienced, but I feel I'm aware of my surroundings. I'm in the championship locker room as well. That's new to me. It's only the start of my career. I'm still learning every time I play a Grand Slam. Q. We a strong contingent of Australians this year. How does that make the feel of the tournament feel? NICK KYRGIOS: It's exciting. We have a lot of players in the main draw which is really good. We've all been pushing each other. We all get along really well. I was just watching a bit of Thanasi then. I'll go back out there after this. Q. The contingent, biggest since '95 here at Wimbledon. What do you put that down to? Is it the way they restructured, players were developed? Have you capitalized on that, benefited from that? NICK KYRGIOS: I don't think it's 'cause of that. You know, I've known Thanasi and those guys for a long time. We grew up together. We all worked hard. We all had the potential to be good players. Guys like Luke Saville, who qualified this week, had an unbelievable junior career. He always had the makings to become a good player. All the guys have good tools and weapons to become good. I think it's showing now as well. Q. For guys and your generation, what does Hewitt mean to you and the other players that are your age? NICK KYRGIOS: I think he's huge. His attitude and competitiveness I think is second to none. Maybe Rafa and him are the greatest competitors of all time. When you got him still playing Davis Cup, leading the charge, I think when he's training and you watch that, it's pretty special. I think it carries a little bit towards us guys. Q. Any words of advice taking on Richard today? NICK KYRGIOS: Just hang in there (smiling). Q. Does it worry you that your reputation now is becoming a little bit feisty on court, that Australia has players that are a little bit more calm, that you might be seen as becoming the bad boy of Australian tennis? NICK KYRGIOS: I don't know what to answer. I don't know. I play the sport the way I play it. I'm not going to change, you know. Q. On the other hand, do you think in your own heart you bring a charisma or style that is appealing to young fans? NICK KYRGIOS: I think so, yeah. I think the sport needs characters. I feel like, you know, it's good when you see someone that's raw and just plays the game the way they play it, doesn't really worry about other stuff when they're out there. Q. Like Draymond Green? NICK KYRGIOS: What's with you and the Golden State Warriors? Q. I'm just teasing. You were talking about LeBron and how he does what he does, he doesn't care. Do you sort of look at basketball, people like that, as a role model rather than people who are perhaps higher up the ladder in tennis? NICK KYRGIOS: Not so much. Obviously I think Roger is a great role model. What he does off the court and on the court is unbelievable. I think Rafa is a great role model as well. But they don't really care what's written about them. They just go out there and do what they think is best to get good results. That's what I'm going to continue to do as well. Q. In terms of your style and your swagger or whatever. NICK KYRGIOS: What? Q. Top basketball players and the way they carry themselves are very different to the top tennis players. Do you see yourself leaning more towards the basketball side? NICK KYRGIOS: Possibly. Possibly. I'm not trying to be anyone else. I'm just myself. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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