NICK KYRGIOS admits he was “dreading coming back” to professional tennis following a lengthy injury hiatus.
The Australian is due to play Belgian wildcard David Goffin tomorrow on No.1 Court on the opening day of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.
Nick Kyrgios came runner-up last year
Last year’s runner-up has played just ONE match in nine months, having pulled out of the Australian Open in January to undergo a drainage procedure on his injured left knee.
Kyrgios, 28, thinks and acts differently to most sportsmen and women, viewing what he does as his occupation and not his overriding passion in life.
The Canberra maverick said: “I didn’t miss the sport at all, to be fair. I was almost dreading coming back a little bit. But it’s my job.
“I didn’t watch too much tennis. There are a couple players that I enjoy watching. If they’re playing, I might give a look at the live scores.
“I looked at the positives during this time. I got to spend some extended time at home, which I’d never gotten before.
“Over the last eight years of my life, I’ve barely been home.
“In a way it was good to be home. Obviously heart-breaking as well.
“You’re competing for Grand Slams. Last year I felt like everything kind of came together for me. Finals of Wimbledon. Barely lost a match. Had the third best season on Tour.
“Obviously my body was just crying out for some sort of rest. I needed to do what I had to do. Yeah, it’s been brutal. Yeah, it’s been hard.”
Kyrgios claims there are “some question marks” over his overall fitness and he is not sure if he is ready for the rigours of five-set tennis over several hours.
The No.30 seed said: “I look at my preparations last year coming in and I probably had the most ideal preparation possible. It couldn’t be any different this year.
“I’m not going to discredit the work I’ve put in for the last six months just trying to maintain my fitness, get back on court.
“I’ve been hitting with some really good players this week and my body is feeling okay.
“I’m going to take it one day at a time. I’m not going to look forward and put unfair expectations on myself.
“I’m just going to try to do everything I can, prepare, go out there and play some good tennis.
“People forget how strenuous this sport is, how physical it is. To the outside world, people don’t understand. Just because it’s not contact, it’s not that physical.
“I dare someone to go out there and play four hours with Novak (Djokovic) and see how you feel afterwards.”
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