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WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPEN

August 19, 2017

Nick Kyrgios

Cincinnati, Ohio

N. KYRGIOS/R. Nadal

6-2, 7-5

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You had to play two matches today. You looked pretty fresh tonight against Rafa. Were you feeling the effects of the first match at all?
NICK KYRGIOS: Not really. You know, obviously playing Ivo was a bit of a luxury, I guess, when I'm not going to run very much. It was still pretty hot out there today. No, I think I did everything right.

As soon as I finished, I went back to the hotel. I had a nap. Showered up. Went to the barber shop. I chilled. I knew I had to sort of just chill out for tonight's match.

Q. Against Goffin, a really physical match, you were grunting pretty excessively for about three games. Were you in a lot of pain and thinking possibly maybe not finishing that match?
NICK KYRGIOS: Kind of, but, you know, I saw he was in a lot of pain, as well. I was just kind of just battling, as well. I just kept going.

Yeah, I mean, I'm doing everything I can. I'm rehabbing every day. I'm getting treatment for it. We have a Tennis Australia physio here, and he's helping me a lot. If I put in performances like I did today, I'm seeing progress. Yeah, it's good enough to play.

Q. How good have you gotten at keeping yourself in a good space? A lot of people playing two matches in one day, especially, might get, you know, frustrated about that, but you had time to go get a haircut in between matches. You're doing okay?
NICK KYRGIOS: Yeah. I didn't want to play last night, that's for sure. I didn't want to hang around until 11:00, even 1:00 a.m. I think it was a silly idea.

Yeah, as I said, I think I had a luxury playing Ivo today. Still went three sets. I don't know. Kind of didn't really think about it too much, to be honest. Just, like, I'm playing Rafa. That was going through my mind and obviously a lot of adrenaline. I didn't think physicality was going to be an issue tonight.

Q. Of the younger guys, you seem to be the best playing the big name players, Federer, Djokovic, Nadal. What is it about your game and mentality that allows you to do so well against them?
NICK KYRGIOS: I don't know if I agree with that. I think all the young guys play great against those guys. Look at Zverev. He's killing it at the moment.

Obviously I think it's easier to say that for me because you see me tank ridiculous amounts of matches against, like, on back courts and stuff like that, and you never see me doing anything silly obviously in a match like this. It's easy to get up for these matches.

Little kid playing on center court of Cincinnati against Nadal, that's the way, you know, the best has to come out. You know, the problem for me is trying to bring it on an everyday basis, say, center court of Lyon with, like, 15 people against Nicolas Kicker earlier this year, I lost. Tonight I'm playing Rafa and I win.

These matches aren't the problem. It's those matches for me.

Q. You mention doing ridiculous things. The crowd reacted confused when you hit the tweener. What was going through your mind on that shot? Obviously you were feeling pretty good with your game.
NICK KYRGIOS: I mean, I was just doing it for gags. I was up 40-Love. I just felt like doing it. I know my friends back home were watching and they were probably laughing. I don't know. I just do it for in the moment, I guess.

Q. Along those lines, you have hit at least one tweener in every match here. Does that help keep you loose? Do you usually hit them when you're down 40-Love when the guy is serving? Does it keep you loose in the game?
NICK KYRGIOS: I think it's just a bad habit, to be honest. I do it in practice a lot. Things you do in practice you tend to do in matches. Probably just a habit now.

Q. You had a great match. Struggled a bit at the end, obviously, in the second. Were you getting concerned at all? How did you pull yourself together when your serve was letting you down?
NICK KYRGIOS: I just haven't played many matches. In the last couple of months I had a roller coaster of scenes. Ever since Davis Cup, had such a big high. Obviously my grandpa passed away. Had some off-court issues. My head's been all over the place.

I just haven't had that confidence, I guess, in closing out big matches. Tonight was a perfect example. I had the match on my racquet and obviously just tightened up a little bit. I think that's normal. But if I had lost the match, if I had match points and lost it, I wouldn't have been -- I mean, obviously I would have been disappointed, but there are worse things in the world. Obviously it's just a tennis match at the end of the day.

Q. I was with you in D.C. and it didn't seem like you had your head or body in the right place. How did you get your head and body together? Seems pretty quick from the outside. What's been going well for you the past couple of weeks?
NICK KYRGIOS: Yeah, it's just -- I don't know. I guess, you know, my great friend, he's practically my coach, Matt Reid, he came over and, you know, he kind of puts me in a good head space. He just tries to take my mind off things a little bit.

Obviously the Davis Cup group, you know, we still have a lot of messaging. They're obviously telling me all the time -- I have just been going through a load of shit, sorry for cussing, but a load of stuff that's distracted me from just trying to play some tennis, and hopefully I'm just trying to get on the right track again.

Q. Do you feel like you're on the right track now?
NICK KYRGIOS: I'm starting to, slowly.

Q. Do you think you guys are, I don't know, part of an evolution of tennis maybe? You guys seem to hit the ball harder, serve big, Zverev, Thiem, these guys. Do you feel you're sort of stronger and faster?
NICK KYRGIOS: I don't like to take myself that serious, "evolution of tennis." I'm not going to answer that question.

Q. You talked about coaching. Is Grosjean part of the team, coming to New York?
NICK KYRGIOS: Yeah, he's coming to New York. I haven't seen him in a month or something. It will be good to have him there. Obviously having another legend of the game. Obviously I'm having Matt there, as well. Matt's a guy that he's been there from day one. I used to play against him at Futures and Challengers. He was kind of my first big win in Australia, and then, so, yeah, it's good to have him around. He kind of just keeps me grounded a little bit.

Q. You're posting a lot of good music on your Instagram account. What were you listening to you today?
NICK KYRGIOS: I was listening to a bunch of things. I went to the Coldplay concert in Montreal. I'm listening to them a fair bit now.

I have an addictive personality, so I will just keep playing songs over and over again until they just suck.

Q. You are in the semis now. There is no Top 10 guys in the semis which is wide open for a Masters. What do you think of the opportunity ahead of you at this tournament to do big things?
NICK KYRGIOS: Yeah, I mean, I'm not even looking ahead. Obviously tomorrow against Ferrer, it's going to be a tough battle. He's a great competitor. I don't even know how long he's been on tour for. Looks like he's trying to find his range again. Looks like he's playing much better now than he was last year.

I know that he's feeling confident. To beat Dominic in straight sets, and then -- who did he beat the round before that? He's beat guys like Jack Sock last couple of weeks, as well. He's playing good tennis against good players. I know it's going to be tough.

Q. Sounds a little bit like mental toughness is really that area for you that you struggle with. Is there something from a personality trait that just makes that focus the challenge for you?
NICK KYRGIOS: I'm not too sure. I don't know. I just -- I don't really -- it's just hard for me to take the game seriously at times. It's tough. It's tough. I can't answer it.

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