After a hiatus of almost one year, Nick Kyrgios will return to action at the upcoming Australian Open. Kyrgios last played at the 2020 Australian Open, where he lost to Rafael Nadal in a thrilling fourth-round match. Despite the tour’s resumption in September last year, Kyrgios withdrew from the entire season, citing health risks due to COVID-19.

Nick Kyrgios applauds Coco Gauff

Recently, Kyrgios uploaded an Instagram story containing a post about his comments on the teenager, Coco Gauff. Having practiced with Gauff when she was 12, Kyrgios is aware of the enormous talent that the 16-year-old American possesses. The 6-time ATP titlist Kyrgios spoke highly of the WTA star and believes Gauff has the potential to achieve the big things in the sport.

“She’s going to have the potential to do some amazing things in this sport. I hit with her when she was 12 at Miami. I hit with her this year again. She’s the real deal. She’s amazing.” said Kyrgios. 

At the 2019 Wimbledon Championships, Gauff became the youngest player in the Open Era to qualify for the main draw in the tournament’s history. At last year’s Australian Open, Gauff ousted the defending champion Naomi Osaka and established herself as one of the strongest contenders in the game.

After announcing he won’t compete at the 2021 ATP Cup at the start of the year, Kyrgios will most likely play at one of the ATP 250 events being held in Melbourne. On the other hand, Gauff began her 2021 season at the Abu Dhabi Open, but lost to Maria Sakkari in the second round.

Since the 2015 Australian Open, Kyrgios has failed to move past the fourth round of any Grand Slam event. The 27-year-old will find tough competition in his contemporaries Dominic Thiem, Alexander Zverev, and Daniil Medvedev, considering all of them have performed impeccably well in the 2020 season.