Nick Kyrgios made a kick-start to his 2019 Washington Open campaign after defeating Thai-Son Kwiatkowski 7-5, 6-4 in the opening round. The victory came after the 24-year-old lost his doubles opener on Monday night, partnering with Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Nick Kyrgios admitted after the match that he has been suffering from some mental health issues, lately. The Australian, who has been under the headlines for his on and off-court antics, confessed that his playing schedule is also reduced this year.
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Kyrgios started the year as world No.35, however, due to his substandard performance during the 2019 season, he slipped to No.52 in the ATP rankings. The Australian clinched the title at the Mexican Open 2019 but his win-loss record in this season still stands at 13-10. Nick Kyrgios revealed that his lack of match play has been due to off-court issues.
He explained in the on-court interview, “I haven’t been playing too much tennis, being going through some mental struggles, but super happy with the win.
However, the 24-year-old was satisfied with his first-round performance in Washington. He continued, “I played well today and I just came through. I just competed well today, I played some really good tennis.”
He further praised the American qualifier and said, “I knew it was going to be a tough, tough match, he’s a great athlete, moves extraordinarily well, so I’m just happy to get through.”
Nick Kyrgios will face 11th seed, Giles Simon in the next round. He suggested that he has no intent on changing his game and will continue to play his natural game against the Frenchman.
“The same thing for me every single match. Serve big and play big and back my instincts. That’s the way I’ve been playing my entire career and we’ll see how it goes,” Kyrgios said when asked about he would attack against 34-year-old.
