US OPEN

September 4, 2022

Nick Kyrgios

Press Conference

N. KYRGIOS/D. Medvedev

7-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Four sets, under three hours. Assess your performance.

NICK KYRGIOS: Yeah, the first set I guess was the most important thing. I feel like if he'd got that first set, it was going to be pretty much an impossible task for me to come back and win.

I just thought I played the right way. I returned unbelievable today. Just thought the third and fourth set were just so free. I was just having a lot of fun, embracing every moment out on Ashe today. Really proud of that.

Obviously I felt like I disrupted his rhythm a little bit, didn't let him kind of get comfy behind the baseline, play his style of tennis. I think that's what you have to do.

But I was overall pretty happy with my performance.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. As that match progressed, you were getting closer and closer to the end, what was that feeling like?

NICK KYRGIOS: I was always taught to kind of stay in the moment. But it's really hard, to be honest. I knew kind of when I broke in the fourth, I got up a double break, obviously you start thinking about the finish line.

Yeah, I just tried to stay with the process to try and just block out the finish line, just go through my routine on my serve, try to hit good spots, try and keep playing the right way.

Yeah, obviously when I got up 40-15 in that game, the crowd kind of knew it was coming to an end, I just looked at my box, they calmed me down. I was just breathing. I knew I'd been serving wide a lot. I said if I hit the spot T, he's probably not coming back. That's it.

I didn't over-celebrate. It's only fourth round. I got quarterfinals. It was an amazing experience obviously taking down the No. 1 player in the world on Arthur Ashe Stadium. But I don't really like to celebrate too much after that because I know that if I played him nine more times, he's probably getting on top of me the majority of the time.

I just take it. Just get back to the right things. I just stayed in the moment, and that's it.

Q. At Wimbledon you gave Djokovic that really tough match. You said afterwards that if you had won you might not have the motivation to go after the majors after that. How would you describe your motivation right now and the level that you feel you're at?

NICK KYRGIOS: I just feel like I'm playing for a lot more than myself. I've just got a lot of people, a lot of support, and on the flip side I got a lot of people doubting me and trying to bring me down all the time as well.

I've got a lot of motivation in the back of my mind. I've been away from home now for four months. My whole team has. We don't get to see our family like other tennis players do the majority of time. I'm trying to make it worthwhile, trying to make it a memorable ride for all of us. Hopefully we can get it done, go back home and really celebrate.

I'm just trying to not let people down. I've said it before, I was in this press conference room a while back and I lost in the third round, it was the worst feeling because I've just got so much expectation. I'm finally able to show it now. I feel like I've been working really hard. I've just got a lot of motivation at the moment.

Yeah, as I said, if I win a Grand Slam, I don't know how much motivation I'd have afterwards because it's extremely hard to do.

Q. You said out there you were hopping to show your talent to the New York crowd, 'finally' was your word. Why did it matter to do it here?

NICK KYRGIOS: I just feel like every time I played here, I've just played really average. Like, I just don't feel like I've ever felt settled in New York. I feel like I kind of get distracted very easily. I feel like I just haven't shown Flushing Meadows what I'm about really.

Obviously there's controversy, there's flare, there's this, there's that. But the discipline as well as the hard work intertwined with that as well. I feel like this time around...

I hadn't won a match on Ashe before this week, now I've won two against two quality opponents. I feel like I've been able to showcase. There's a lot of celebrities here, a lot of important people here watching. I wanted to get on that court and show them I am able to put my head down and play and win these big matches.

For the tennis world I think it's important as well. People were really starting to doubt my ability to pull out matches like this at majors. I'm really proud of myself honestly because it hasn't been easy dealing with all the criticism.

Q. Given everything, five sets, defending champion, world No. 1, is this the performance of your career?

NICK KYRGIOS: I feel like I'm more just proud of the way that I've bounced back after everything, honestly. Like, I've been in some really tough situations mentally, and in some really scary places.

So, yeah, obviously if you look at it on paper, I probably wasn't expected to win that. Maybe take a set or two if I'm lucky. Give the people a show.

I don't know, yeah, it's a great win. But I come off the court and I'm just almost relieved that it's over because there's just so much pressure every time I go out on court, so much expectation, so much unpredictability of what I can do.

I just sit there in the locker room after and I'm just super proud of the performance because there was really a time where I didn't think I was capable of producing and doing this any more.

I don't know. I guess I'm just more relieved. I'm just more relieved. I'm super proud, yeah.

Q. Would you say with what you've done at Wimbledon and now here in New York, do you consider yourself any better a tennis player or are you a better competitor? Where do you think this leap has come from?

NICK KYRGIOS: I definitely think that I've improved some of my weaknesses. I really analyzed what I had to get better at at the start of the year, and I've worked on it really hard. So, yeah, whether I'm not that player that was once 13 in the world, I think I am. I think I'm better than that. I think I am.

I don't know where it's come from honestly. I really don't. I feel like I just mentally struggled so hard for like the first six, seven years of my career. I had great results, shocking results, try really hard, then tanking. I just didn't know how to deal with it. I honestly didn't know how to deal with any of it. It was hard. I beat myself up way too hard. It was unhealthy.

I look back, it was just all a learning process to now because I've matured so much. I feel like I kind of embrace it all. When I'm playing bad I embrace it; when I'm playing good I embrace it. But I stay the same, where before I used to just ride the highs and lows way too much and I was exhausted. I didn't know how to deal with everything else, as well.

Now I feel like I'm just kind of -- I know the process now of what it takes to get to a final of a Grand Slam. Not to win it yet, but to get to the final. I know the process. You can't avoid it.

Q. You talk about feeling like better than No. 13 in the world. You have a winning record over most of the players in the top 10. Is there any time you woke up and looked at the rankings and think I should be beating all these guys? Junior rivals as well.

NICK KYRGIOS: I think the ranking system doesn't reward skill and form, to be honest, over a certain period of time. It definitely rewards consistency, more so. I've played 12 events. Some of the people in front of me have played 32. Obviously it's almost impossible for me to be higher ranked unless I'm going deep like this in tournaments. The rankings for me doesn't really matter.

I feel like tonight was another message that rankings don't matter. I see No. 1 next to his name and I see 23 next to mine. That doesn't change anything for me. I don't care whether I'm seeded or not. It's nice otherwise I could draw him first round. Do you know what I mean?

The rankings, I mean, I don't think they mean anything.

Q. You said before the tournament that you were kind of in a win-win situation because you either win a match or get to go home. Does it still feel like that?

NICK KYRGIOS: I always wanted to win. I always felt like if I did the right things and played the right way, I could go deep.

But obviously we all, my team and myself, had an eye on going home. Obviously we've been on the road for so long. That's how I am treating it. If I lost tonight, a bit of doubles tomorrow, whatever happens, then we go home.

I think it does take off the pressure a little bit knowing we've had such a successful couple of months. Then we get to go home and see our family and friends.

At the same time we still got a job to do. Like it's the last biggest tournament of the year. We got to try and just tough it out and keep pushing each other, keep being positive.

We do realize it's next week we're going home. But three more matches potentially, then we never have to play tennis again (smiling).

Q. Is part of the process liking yourself, appreciating yourself, relishing yourself, what you can internally do? Can you talk about what's going on inside you?

NICK KYRGIOS: I felt like when I was really struggling mentally, I was very selfish. I felt like, I feel bad, I don't want to play. Then I looked at the people closest to me and how much I was letting them down, and I didn't want to do that any more.

Then, I don't know, I just tried to just look at my career. I was like, I feel like I've got so much left to give to the sport. That's it. I just trained hard. I just put my head down, Look, let's get in shape, better shape, first of all. Let's see, like, how it goes.

Then I don't know. Obviously winning helps. I've been winning a lot this year. The motivation has been there. It's easy to train. It's easier to wake up obviously when things are going great.

I was just really sick of letting people down. I don't know, just feeling like that. I feel like I'm making people proud now. I feel like there's not as much negative things being said about me. I just wanted to turn the narrative around almost. That's basically it. I just was feeling so depressed all the time, so feeling sorry for myself. I just wanted to change that.