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CITI OPEN

August 2, 2019

Nick Kyrgios

Washington D.C.

N. KYRGIOS/N. Gombos

6-3, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You've had the opportunity to play several nights. Has the crowd do you feel been supportive of you? Have you been able to feed off of the crowd each evening?
NICK KYRGIOS: Yeah, for sure. It's been awesome to see them hang around. We have the joke in the locker room that that's the graveyard shift, last on center court.

But I kind of like it. Especially in D.C. the crowd has been awesome, the atmosphere has been awesome. I'm just happy I've been able to produce some good tennis.

I've competed four days in a row. Going out there and enjoying myself. It's been fun. Obviously looking forward to the match tomorrow against Stefanos. We're the only two people in the locker room right now. We were just laughing, having a good time.

The banter has been good. We have a lot of respect for each other, so I'm looking forward to it.

Q. How different does it feel to play Stefanos after getting to know him this week than it would have been otherwise? I feel like he was the guy that was one of the more confusing people to you on tour. Do you feel you've gotten to know him better?
NICK KYRGIOS: Yeah, every time I was just bantering and trolling. But we've got to know each other a little bit better this week. We actually get along really well.

I'm excited to go out there and just serve big and play big. He's one of the best players in the world right now. It's another opportunity for me to go out there and work on a couple things, have a lot of fun.

I'm just super happy with the week so far. Obviously he's a good kid. He's going to have an amazing career. He's already done some amazing things. Obviously the Federer match at the Australian Open was awesome. I was sitting in my room watching that. It's good to see.

Q. What's something you learned about him this week that you didn't know before?
NICK KYRGIOS: I mean, all I knew is he's a good kid. He's definitely cut from a different piece of cloth than I am. Yeah, I mean, I'm excited to just play with him and get to know him a little more. Our relationship's good.

Q. Your mention of trolling made me think of your social media activity. I'm too old to be on Instagram.
NICK KYRGIOS: Don't lie. I know you are (laughter).

Q. You're there, active on Twitter. Tell us what positive energy you get from sometimes interacting with fans on social media, then the downside. Not only are there fans of other players potentially, but a lot of players get a lot of grief from people who bet.
NICK KYRGIOS: I mean, there's a lot on both sides. It's always going to be like that. Especially someone like myself who just goes about their business the way they want to do it. There's always going to be two sides to it.

I also know that I'm playing for a lot of people. A lot of people can relate to me. I have a massive following, as well. I'm playing for a lot of people out there, not just myself.

At the end of the day you try to focus on the positive. It's tough not to see the negative as well, especially when in the click of your fingers, you go on Instagram, Twitter, you see it. Hard to block it out at times. I think I'm getting better.

Like it or not, I'm a massive role model. I'm doing all these kids days at every single tournament. They're picking me for a reason. I know deep down there's a lot of kids that look up to me and I need to be better.

Q. You're known for having a wide arsenal of shots. Maybe invented some. How do you blend a big serve with such incredible accuracy?
NICK KYRGIOS: It's a tough one actually. I've been asked this a lot. My serve is the shot I practice the least out of everything. It's been my best shot now since I probably stepped on a tennis court. I just feel like it's the only shot you can control every time. You can go through your routine, you have complete control of it. I feel like you have to take good advantage of it.

I probably don't practice it. I probably hit nine or ten serves before the match today. I served amazing. That's how it's been my whole career. I step up to the line, throw the ball up, just try to hit it inside the box without the other person hitting it.

Q. You were preparing for your match. I don't know how much you were paying attention to the match before you, the shoe. Did you see what Benoit did? What did you think about that?
NICK KYRGIOS: Yeah, I guess, I mean, Stefanos gets into some serious acrobatic positions. Obviously his shoelace just broke.

I don't honestly think it would have made much difference in the match. I mean, it was obviously tough for Benoit to deal with that momentum swing, I guess, because there was a bit of a pause in between points.

I thought it was quite humorous what he did. Tsitsipas is playing some great tennis, so...

Q. You talked about warming up with Mr. Tsitsipas earlier this week. Elaborate how different that was for you. At what point did you have to tell him, Dude, I'm done?
NICK KYRGIOS: Honestly, I thought we were just going to have like a 25-minute hit-out, roll the arm over, banter a little bit. Before I know it, we're an hour in, playing singles games. I'm dripping. It's humid.

Then I'm hitting a serve. Mr. Tsitsipas is like feeding me a ball that I have to hit after my serve. Look, I'm finished for the day. We have doubles after. I don't want to be too tired.

I guess that shows how hard he works. He's out there every day, super professional, putting in the hours. It's obvious why he's good. You can see how polished his game is when he's playing.

Again, he just goes about it differently. It works for him, so...

Q. You talked about kids looking up to you. It seems like at a tournament like this, it's so small, everybody is right up against the practice court, it's even more obvious. I don't know if it's obvious to you in this intimate setting, all the kids crowding around. Your influence on other players, I don't know if you even know Anna Kalinskaya, made the semifinal, she did an underarm serve, actually mentioned you in her press conference earlier. Are you aware of that effect on other people?
NICK KYRGIOS: Yeah. I've seen Nishikori do and underarm serve, serve and volley off of it. I've probably seen a dozen, 15 players do an underarm serve.

The only time I did it to start was in Acapulco when Rafa was, like, literally standing at the fence. I thought it was a good play. Then you got guys like Bublik trying to say they're not trying to be like me. But c'mon.

I don't know. I mean, it speaks for itself I think.

Q. After your great week, after practicing with Apostolos Tsitsipas, you don't have a coach, would you ever think of joining that team, they can take you to the next level? Could you survive that?
NICK KYRGIOS: You know the answer to this question. No, I'll not be hiring Apostolos Tsitsipas any time soon.

Q. There is one sequence in your match tonight, you ran left, ran to the net and saved it. How good did it feel that your hustle paid off there?
NICK KYRGIOS: Yeah, it felt good. I was so amped after that point. I heard the crowd go nuts. I guess that's why I play. I want to be able to put myself in that position as much as possible.

I'm working off the court to be more consistent. Hopefully if I just keep working, I can produce moments like that more often. But I was so amped up after that point. I just wanted to rip my shirt off. I felt like a beast.

No, it was so much fun. Like, tonight was fun. I'm looking forward to tomorrow.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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