Australian Open: Is Nick Kyrgios overwhelmed? “I always have absolute confidence in myself”

This time, the Aussies will be entitled to it. During the last two editions of the Australian Open, they had been deprived of the “Nick Kyrgios circus”, of his brilliance and his outbursts. In 2023, he had to give up at the last minute because of his knee, and in 2024, his wrist left him no hope. So much so that he served as a (brilliant) luxury consultant for Eurosport, with the verve that we know him to be. But in 2025, the most famous of the unranked intends to raise the crowds, and this from the 1st round against the Briton Jacob Fearnley, 86th in the world.

“I’m enjoying being part of the tournament, walking the halls, the locker room, seeing everyone again. The last two weeks have been emotional for me. I just enjoy being back. I had somewhat forgotten the amount of emotion you feel, the nervousness when the board comes out or when you see the guys in the locker room. Our sport is really strange: you eat together, you hang out with your rivals on the circuit, and the next minute you’re fighting them on the court. The dynamic is so strange compared to other sports. But I feel at home, it’s pretty cool“, did not hide the person concerned.

Very happy to become a top athlete again, Kyrgios knows his emotion matches his fight to come back. An absence of two years – with the exception of a match lost in Stuttgart in June 2023 – is nothing trivial. Some don’t survive. And the 2022 Wimbledon finalist got a glimpse of what his reconversion could look like by hosting a podcast (“Good Trouble”) and regularly officiating on the microphone during comments or during post-match Grand Slam interviews. During his absence, a lot has happened, and truth be told, the train to a Major victory may well have passed.

“There really is a change of era, that’s for surehe admitted at a press conference. When I was the age of Sinner or Alcaraz, to get to the end of the tournaments, I had to face three of the four best players of all time who were chasing records and history. I’m not saying I always ran into them and that’s why I didn’t win a Grand Slam, but to win one you had to beat those guys, which was virtually impossible. Now there are a lot of young people arriving and incredible talents like (João) Fonseca for example who is 18 years old, plays crazy tennis and will be knocking on the door soon. But I don’t think the media thinks I’m outdated, I’d like to go under the radar every once in a while.”

Kyrgios still fascinates, that’s for sure. But is it still because of its potential competitiveness on a tennis court? We can doubt it. If he always attracts microphones, it is because he has acerbic words, disarming frankness and easy invective. Jannik Sinner has been able to see this in recent weeks, both in the newspaper columns and on social networks. But tennis-wise, can he still pose a threat?

“His defeat against (Giovanni) Mpetshi Perricard in Brisbane was a close call, and despite wrist problems he is showing positive signsbelieves Mats Wilander, consultant for Eurosport. It’s great that he’s back. With his service and talent, he can be a force in the game for at least five or six more years. Winning two matches and maybe beating a top seed would be a good result. Kyrgios loves playing on the side courts at the Australian Open, where the atmosphere is electric. He could really surprise in the first few rounds. Reaching the quarter-finals would be a huge achievement.”

It would even be an unthinkable feat for any other player than him. But Nick Kyrgios still has this magic in him, this unpredictable side, this ability to fire anything that can allow him to topple mountains. Still a little uncomfortable in the wrist, and affected in the abdominals a few days ago in training, the Australian nevertheless has too many physical uncertainties to be reasonably optimistic, especially in the best of five sets.

The fact remains that his talent should still thrill his family. For his last appearance in Melbourne three years ago, when he was also missing matches and was ranked 114th in the world, he really annoyed the future finalist Daniil Medvedev in the 2nd round, even taking a round from him. What if the scenario repeated itself this year in… the 3rd round potentially against Alexander Zverev?

“I’ve beaten just about everyone this sport has put me against before, so I’ll always believe in my ability to do it. People will say, ‘Be realistic, you’ll never be the same.’ I don’t have that state of mind, he finally assured journalists. I always have absolute confidence in my abilities if I play my style of tennis. With my unpredictability, I have a chance against anyone. If I had gone on court against Nadal, Djokovic or Federer for the first time and been realistic, I probably wouldn’t have won. To get there, you have to think that you are the best in the world. It’s probably not realistic, but that’s what I think when I’m on the court.”