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BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL PRESENTED BY SUNCORP

January 7, 2018

Nick Kyrgios

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

N. KYRGIOS/R. Harrison

6-4, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Well done. Best things about the week from your point of view?
NICK KYRGIOS: I guess just the way that I put myself in some pretty tough situations. You know, came back from a set down three times and, you know, against three pretty good opponents.

And for me, that's just confidence not only mentally but physically as well, and battling and fighting hard. And it's good to see the work I was doing in the offseason is paying off. But pretty happy with my performance today.

He came out firing early. He had a lot of chances. And I knew that was going to kind of be the gist of how things were going to go. I knew he was going to come out and play really aggressive, try and take things into his own hands. And I was just telling myself, you know, just keep with it and things will kind of steady on.

And obviously got the break, hit two great returns to break him in the first set and managed to just open up and really play good tennis in the second.

Q. Can you talk about the importance of your first title in Australia?
NICK KYRGIOS: Yeah. It's obviously, you know, a pretty good feeling. You know, I didn't know I was going to come here. I didn't know what kind of, you know, performance I was going to put in this week, whether I was going to do well.

But as the week went on, I felt that I was serving a lot better, hitting the ball better. And I knew today was obviously a great opportunity.

You know, he's been playing well all week, but I definitely went out there as the favorite. And I felt a little bit of pressure going out there. But yeah, it feels good to play well in front of the home crowd.

Q. You were cautious not to put too much expectation on yourself this week. Now it's out of the way. What level do you feel you're going to go to heading into the first slam of the year?
NICK KYRGIOS: I feel good. You know, even if I had lost the first round here, I would probably still feel good next week, going into next week. But obviously, just playing a lot of matches and coming there, that's confidence for any player.

But, yeah, it's just about recovery now. I'm going to Sydney tomorrow to play a bit of FAST4 and Tie Break Tens just to kind of keep a little bit of match practice.

But right now it's all about recovering and feeling the ball for Oz Open. Because obviously I'm playing well under pressure and in pressure situations.

Q. How hard was it to keep your focus between sets? Because you seemed surprised at how long he was taking off court.
NICK KYRGIOS: I just find it strange I can't take a medical time-out for taping that takes a couple of minutes, but someone can leave the court for up to 10 minutes or whatever is reasonable. It's a bit a gray area. Doesn't really make sense.

Q. The retaping, how is the knee? You had it retaped towards the end of first set?
NICK KYRGIOS: It just slips a little bit, the taping. Because I've got the back of my knee taped as well, so it just slips. So I just got it retaped. And yeah, it feels good.

Q. Does it hurt more as the game progresses or does it -- seemed like you were moving better towards the end.
NICK KYRGIOS: Yeah, the front of my knee gets better the warmer it gets. That's kind of the gist with tendons, as I've been told. The more load and more movement you give them, the better it gets.

Q. So after a five-setter, do you feel confident it's going to be okay?
NICK KYRGIOS: Yeah. I mean, right now I feel pretty good. I played 9, 12 -- I mean, how many sets did I play this week? 11. So yeah, I feel pretty good. I feel good.

Q. You talked about -- mentioned Matt Reid a lot this week. What is so special about your relationship with him and why is he so good for you on tour?
NICK KYRGIOS: Well, Reidy has kind of been there for me the last two-and-a-half years traveling with me to places that aren't the greatest.

And it's tough being -- you know, I was on the road for four months last year. And not going home, it's not easy. You know, people think you've got, you know, it's an unbelievable lifestyle. You get to see all of these new places. But in reality, it's not the best.

I mean, it's unbelievable. Don't get me wrong. But obviously to see a familiar face and a guy that has your best interests at heart, you know, to wake up to, and we go to the courts and warm up. He does my rackets. He does everything for me. He doesn't get enough credit.

And, you know, people don't know how much he actually does for me. But, you know, he does it a lot for the Davis Cup team as well. Everyone knows that if you want to hit a couple extra balls, Reidy is there. Anything you want, he's there. He's helped me a lot over the last couple of years.

Q. Just to clarify, when you referred to him as your coach, that was a gag?
NICK KYRGIOS: Yeah. I mean, you know, he gives me tactics sometimes. Yeah, I mean, he's more of a -- how do I put it? He kind of just guides me in the right direction. Like when you bowl, he's like the side pins. He's there. (Laughter.)

Q. You've mentioned Davis Cup a couple of times this week and obviously another coming up. How big a motivator or how important is Davis Cup to you?
NICK KYRGIOS: Yeah, it's huge for me. I love the team environment. It's so easy for me to play for other people. And, you know, to see, obviously, Lleyton on the bench. He loves Davis Cup.

But I can't wait for it. I've obviously got one eye it. And heartbreaking loss to Belgium last year. We got so close. I thought if we had won that tie, coming home in Australia and playing the final, I thought for sure we were going to win and everyone was going to be so motivated.

And I feel like right now is the perfect time for us to win it. We've got a lot of depth and everyone loves playing Davis Cup. We all bought into the culture.

And it's been huge for me. Every time I seem to have a Davis Cup week, my spirits just get lifted and I want to practice more and I want to do everything. Yeah.

Q. I think as of right now you would be the 17 seed going into Australia or to Melbourne. What do you think about this plan the ITF has to get only 16 seeds starting next year?
NICK KYRGIOS: I love it. I think that's a great idea. I think it will make the first week a lot more exciting.

And especially it just -- the big guys may not get such a cruisy draw. You know, us guys around the 20 to 30 mark, we could potentially play an unbelievably tough first couple matches and play so many sets, and then just breeze through the draw playing guys around 100 to 70 and not even being pushed to four sets.

I love it. I think it gives them -- there's not so much protection. You could have, for instance, me against Novak first round and who knows.

Q. You're okay with that?
NICK KYRGIOS: 100 percent. I haven't lost to him before.

Q. Someone with better hearing than me said that you said on the TV -- you were heard saying on the TV coverage when you were talking to the tour supervisor that it could keep you out of the Australian Open. Is that correct and were you particularly concerned at that time?
NICK KYRGIOS: That's not what I said. But yeah, change of ends I was just wondering. You know, I was just wondering about the rule. Like, why I couldn't take a medical time-out for the knee taping.

And I was just saying, for instance, if my knee was to keep me out of the Australian Open -- which, you know, who knows. It could -- why I couldn't get a medical time-out?

I was just seeing where the rule kind of -- you know, where the line is. It was just professional curiosity.

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