CITI OPEN

August 6, 2022

Nick Kyrgios

Press Conference

N. KYRGIOS/M. Ymer

7-6, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Amazing week for you. Two finals tomorrow. How do you feel right now?

NICK KYRGIOS: I mean, proud. At the end of the day I think, you know, this is just a kind of result of the last six months I think for me, the amount of work I have done. You know, consciously trying to every day get into good habits, be positive, try to work on new things on court.

Regardless of how tomorrow goes in both finals, I think it's a hell of an achievement. In one week I think to make both finals is pretty special. You know, I'm super excited.

It's been a minute since I have played in a final, Wimbledon final, so, you know, I'm gonna just try and turn it around and get a win tomorrow. I'm just super proud of the work I have put in.

Obviously tired, but, look, I played five incredibly tough matches to get here, and I feel like Nishioka has played just as hard players, and he deserves to be in the final. You know, the players he's beat this week are really, really tough players: Evans, Rublev, Khachanov, Brooksby, de Minaur won Atlanta, so he's obviously playing really good tennis to beat those guys. I've got to be in fine form tomorrow.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. What do you anticipate for tomorrow just as far as his game and what he brings, his style?

NICK KYRGIOS: I played him here second round the year I won it, and I played him again in Atlanta. So my head-to-head is 2-0. I feel extremely confident against that game style. Against left-handers, I feel like I match up pretty well against left-handers.

But he's obviously feeling himself this week. He's seeing the ball very big. He's having a lot of fun. The crowd loves him. He's a very tricky player. He loves his forehand crosscourt. You have to stay extremely patient against him.

As I said, you look at the players he's beaten this week, they are not easy to beat, like, so I know tomorrow I have got to focus on my game. I can't worry about how he's feeling.

You know, I'm assuming it's his first time in an ATP 500 final, so I have that experience behind me as well. There is going to be a lot of emotions out there tomorrow. This is probably the first time I have been into a 500 final and been the favorite.

The last couple 500s I have played some quality, high-ranked opponents. Look, I'm not going to think about that. I'm going to get some good sleep tonight and just enjoy it and celebrate with my team, I guess. We all deserve it.

Q. You referenced the six months and the run that you have been on really since the spring is very impressive. What's the key to sustainability? It's one thing to have a good week, a good tournament, but you have had arguably the best run you have ever had consecutively.

NICK KYRGIOS: Yeah, I mean, definitely I feel like it's just everyday habits. Just from getting good sleep, from taking every practice session seriously, I have just really been just positive on a day-to-day basis, like I have just tried to create good habits on a tennis court.

Every time out there on the practice, I'm really trying to work on things, just training hard. I'm just dedicating myself a little bit more, I think, as well. I'm getting a bit more obsessed with seeing what I can actually do on a tennis court, getting to that vulnerable state. Last night I could have easily lost, but I gave it all. I gave my everything, and I was willing to lose, and I came away with a very tight victory.

I don't know. I don't think I can put my finger on just one thing. I think it's a variety of things. Yeah.

Q. You were always famous for turning it on in the big matches. Seems like lately you are really taking care of business when you are not the underdog, when you are the guy that's on top. Going into this final you're obviously not the underdog. Do you like playing finals when you are the underdog? Is it hard to win the matches that you are the top guy?

NICK KYRGIOS: Yeah, definitely. I feel like you can -- I mean, obviously going into a match underdog, you don't feel as much pressure. You feel as if like you go in there and it's a bonus whatever you come out with.

You look at Nishioka's week. Probably best week of his career, by far. He goes into the final tomorrow. Not expecting to win, I don't think, himself. But he's just going to go out there and swing and have fun, and everything is a bonus for him this week.

So that's a dangerous player to play. When they know they're not putting any expectation on themselves, they are really happy and content with the result that they have. For me, I'm not going to really think about what I'm playing for.

I'm not going to go out there and think it's a title match. I'm just going to go out there and concentrate on the things I can focus on and control, and that's my serve, and that's the way I can compete. If I do those two things well, serve and compete well, if I lose, I'm just going to shake his hand and say, Well done, you have had a hell of a week. That's all I can really control. That's it.

Q. To media and fans like the big tournaments, like Wimbledon where you reached the final, are always the things they talk about in terms of achievements. I can imagine for players, smaller tournaments like this one and what you have had to deal with this week, to you personally might mean just as much. Would this qualify this week for something like that?

NICK KYRGIOS: Definitely. For me personally, you know, from where I was last year to now, it's two different people, two different tennis players. I mean, by no means is this a small tournament. I think you look at the players that were here, and the draw was stacked, absolutely stacked with players and the competition.

You could arguably say my draw here was harder than my draw at Wimbledon. You could arguably say that.

Look, for me, if I am able to take home the trophy tomorrow in both the events, it's probably going to be my favorite week of my career so far. It's going to overtake the Wimbledon final, for sure.

I don't think it's been done too many times where someone has collected both singles and doubles trophies, never here, so that's something that's going to be super special to me. I think I could have easily pulled the pin on doubles tonight and gone home and gotten that rest under my belt and gone into singles as fresh as possible, but it was actually a goal this week to me to go after the doubles title as well with Jack.

I told him at the start of the week I felt like we could do it. He was asking me, Are you feeling okay for singles?

I was, like, Bruh, I want to play doubles. I want to do both.

This is going to be right up there if I'm able to do both.