Nick Kyrgios will be back on Wimbledon’s Court One today, and for once he might not be the most controversial Australian sporting star in London after events at Lord’s.
He remains, however, a bag of contradictions. Holding court on Sunday, he spoke of how ‘heartbreaking’ it had been to be on the sidelines, especially missing the Australian Open, and that he was excited to be back at Wimbledon.
He did not seem entirely convinced, however. Before departing he also insisted that he had not watched that much tennis during his convalescence from knee surgery in January, apart from a few players like Frances Tiafoe and Carlos Alcaraz: ‘I don’t miss the sport at all, to be fair. I was almost dreading coming back a little bit. But it’s my job.’
At 28 the mercurial Australian is still trying to work out his attitude towards the profession. The enforced absence which has seen him play just one match since last October has not really cleared things up for him.
That is part of the fascination which will follow him onto the All England Club’s secondary arena today when he faces the seasoned Belgian David Goffin, a good enough player to have made the quarter finals a year ago.
Nick Kyrgios has announced he is fit to play at Wimbledon despite a knee problem
The Australian said he ‘worked extremely hard’ to be able to prepare for Wimbledon
It was on this same arena, during the middle Saturday in 2022, that he played arguably the most dramatic match of the whole season, knocking out Stefanos Tsitsipas.
On show was his full repertoire: stunning shotmaking, blow-ups at officialdom, his support box and his opponent, who was driven to such distraction that he was lucky to escape a default after smacking a ball into the crowd.
Afterwards Tsitsipas labelled Kyrgios a bully with ‘a very evil side to him’, although the Greek recently apologised for those remarks. The boyish and more phlegmatic Goffin is unlikely to draw such ire, but you never know.
The difference is that last year the Australian saw himself as a genuine contender for the title, as he was in the shape of his life. Twelve months on just making the second week would represent an achievement.
Another ingredient is that more people will have seen the subsequent Netflix series, in which Kyrgios spoke openly of his mental health issues over the years. That included the revelation that in 2019 he spent time in a psychiatric ward in a London hospital after defeat at SW19, having experienced suicidal thoughts.
‘It took me seven, eight years to be able to just open up about that. I kept it very close to the chest for a long time,’ he said yesterday.
‘But I think it’s important. I think a lot of athletes kind of go through that, I feel like it’s a bit better now. Especially males felt like it was kind of hard to open up, admit they were struggling.
‘I feel very different to how I was feeling obviously throughout that period in 2019, I guess I feel great now.’
Kyrgios los in four sets in the final against Novak Djokovic (left) at Wimbledon last year
Monday’s match might yet be the best of the opening day, and such is the attention upon last year’s beaten finalist that security will be extra tight.
‘I’ve never really felt unsafe out there,’ he said.
‘I feel like my matches are definitely some of the matches where it can get pretty loose. Something like that maybe could happen in one of my matches because the stadiums are full, a lot of people are rowdy.’
A lot will depend on which Kyrgios turns up, and there is not much to go on. He made his comeback on grass in Germany immediately after the French Open, and then withdrew from two more events prior to this because he did not feel his knee was quite ready.
‘I played a couple weeks ago in Stuttgart. I lost, and the criticism was enormous. My first match back, it was hard to kind of just be the same player that I was straightaway.
‘I’ve been trying to emulate a little bit the kind of load that I’m going to be having. Obviously you can’t do that with a Grand Slam. Last year first round I played Paul Jubb, and it went for four hours.
‘I look at my preparations last year coming in, I probably had the most ideal preparation possible. It couldn’t be any different this year.
Kyrgios admitted he’s unlikely to repeat his heroics from 12 months at Wimbledon
‘I’ve been working really hard. I’ve been trying to do everything possible. I’ve been really disciplined throughout that time (with the rehab). I barely missed any part of the process.
‘Last year I felt like everything kind of came together for me. Finals of Wimbledon, had the third best season (among anyone) on tour. Obviously my body was just crying out for some sort of rest.
‘It’s been brutal. In a way it was good to be home. Obviously heartbreaking as well.’
How heartbreaking, he could not be so sure.