US OPEN

August 31, 2022

Nick Kyrgios

Press Conference

N. KYRGIOS/B. Bonzi

7-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Take us through the match. Four-set win. On to the third round.

NICK KYRGIOS: Well, I wasn't going out there expecting him to not be good or something. But his level was really, really good. I was really, like, fortunate to get through in four sets. I was down 4-All, Love-40 in the fourth, I played some really low-percentage tennis to get out of that game.

Yeah, it was one of those matches where you kind of survive. I am relatively happy with my form. It's not like I played bad or anything. I probably didn't return as well as I would have liked. It's so stressful now because every match I play, I'm kind of expecting to play so good. Such a clean performance is kind of not realistic in a sport like this where you're playing day in, day out, traveling.

I got to probably the lower expectation of expecting to play like a Wimbledon final every time. There's so many capable players who can play, so...

Got to be a bit nicer to myself I think and just lower the expectations a bit.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. On that point about trying to play so good, in one sense are you a little bit of a perfectionist on the court? Some of those shots in the tiebreak especially were better than perfection.

NICK KYRGIOS: Well, I feel like in this part of my career, I just don't want to let people down. I feel like I'm representing so many people. I know how much work goes into it with my team, there's a lot of people supporting me.

I just feel like, you know, I just remember doing a press conference here like maybe three or four years ago, I lost in the third round, I just felt horrible because I kept not exceeding expectations, winning.

So I'm sitting here, I feel like this is probably the most pressure I've had on myself. I know that I'm capable of going to a slam final now and I really want to achieve. I want to bring my team with me. I want to do it together.

I don't know. I just feel like, yeah, I'm definitely a perfectionist on the court. I feel like I can play like four or five great points, then I play one point and I'm going nuts. It's okay, I don't know. It's hard.

But I don't know, I want to have success with certain people. I want to do it. That's probably why I'm having such high expectations and standards.

Q. You talk about high standards, expectations, perfectionism. Puts a lot of pressure on you. Are you more comfortable in your own skin? Are you happier with yourself as a result of recent months?

NICK KYRGIOS: Well, I've just played a lot of tennis. That's one. This year's been amazing in so many different ways. For my tennis, I kind of wanted to almost reinvent myself, get back to the top of the game where I know I belong.

The Wimbledon final was a turning point I think for me mentally. If I won that match, I don't know where my motivation would have been at. Losing it and being so close, it was really tough for me to kind of swallow that.

Winning Washington, winning so many matches, I just feel like I thought the pressure would be off me after winning Wimbledon. He's a Wimbledon finalist, he's nearly-over-

the-hump-type thing. For me, personally, I didn't think I'd be putting this amount of pressure on myself. Every day I come in, I watch what I eat, I try and get sleep. Like every practice session I try and have good intent.

I almost don't know who I am anymore, to be honest, because that's not me. Trying to balance so many different things out. It's hard as well. The media, the fans are crazy everywhere I go. I'm trying to balance my personal life as well as my tennis. It's just a lot.

I feel like I'm really professional right now. I never thought that the Wimbledon final would make me that way. I thought it would be the other way, the reverse, almost a bit lax and a bit chilled with it.

Yeah, it's stressful.

Q. You play J.J. Wolf in the next round. He said you talked a bit in the locker room. What do you know about his game?

NICK KYRGIOS: He's got a massive game. I love the way he plays tennis. I love the fact that he has a big serve, tries to take it to the opposition. Serves big and plays big.

He's a great guy as well. I got to know him in Houston this year. He has an infectious personality. We always chat when we're in the locker room.

With a game like that, he's going to have some great results. Obviously he seems like a hard worker, as well. Just happy to be here. Every time I see him, he has a smile on his face.

I'm expecting an incredibly hard match. I know it's not going to be easy at all. I'm going into that probably the favorite, but I'm not going to take him lightly at all. I know he's beaten some great players. I've got another day tomorrow where I've got to practice and play doubles. I haven't even eaten yet. There's so many things I have to do before that match.

Yeah, I'm excited. A young gun. I love playing these young guys. I never thought I'd say that. I've been on tour now for 10 years and I'm calling people young.

Yeah, I'm excited.

Q. You mentioned that Love-40 comeback, the low-percentage shots. Is that a moment where you think instead you should be hitting big shots to safer spaces or is that what you wanted to be doing, go for the angles, the lines?

NICK KYRGIOS: I feel like my strength on a tennis court is my unpredictability at times and the ability to not maybe care as much in those bigger moments. Honestly my mentality was I'm probably going to get broken. I was almost gearing myself up for a fifth set.

In those moments I just played really low percentage. I just kind of hit a dropshot here, hit the forehand cross-court, faked him out with the underarm. I just tried to play the most unpredictable, low-percentage tennis. I know if I play any other way, I'm probably going to get broken. Why wouldn't I just try?

It got me out of jail. Literally I think I won nine points in a row to win the match. Obviously that was a massive momentum switch.

I was really impressed with him today. He created chances where he plays a couple points here or there, we're still in the fifth right now. I'm still out there playing.

Look, that's tennis. It's a very strange sport. The scoring system is nuts. I'm just very fortunate that we're moving forward 'cause he played good enough to beat me today, for sure.

Q. Who do you think is the G.O.A.T. in women's tennis?

NICK KYRGIOS: Who do I think is the G.O.A.T.?

Q. In women's tennis.

NICK KYRGIOS: I'd say Serena, no? Who do you think?

Q. Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, Margaret Court.

NICK KYRGIOS: There's so much I want to say, but I'm just going to say Serena, yeah (smiling).

Q. Playing on that court, you touched on the wafts of marijuana during the match. Had you had that before? What does it feel like playing on that court? Open ventilation, the crowd, the buzz. Does seem like a different vibe from a normal tennis stadium.

NICK KYRGIOS: Yeah, people don't know. I'm a heavy asthmatic. When I'm running side to side, I'm struggling to breathe, probably not something I want to be breathing in in between points.

Yeah, US Open, it's a very different vibe to everywhere else. I feel like Wimbledon was so proper. Australian Open, you kind of expect it there, being an Aussie. But here, it's just like noisy. Point in, point out, I can't barely hear. Half the time I can't even hear my team because it's so noisy all the time.

Ashe was unbelievably noisy. I couldn't hear anything. Constant jitter. Things going off, sirens. In Armstrong today, hearing trains and people. For someone that's struggled to focus in my career, I'm really trying hard to put my head down and play point by point, try to dig myself out of some certain situations. It's hard because there's a lot of distractions. Obviously a lot of heckling going on as well. People are saying things. I got to be very careful with what I say these days.

But, yeah...