Nick Kyrgios is positive about the improvement in his knee injury, optimistic about the impact of the Davis Cup environment on a career that resumes this week after his Australian Open meltdown and moving closer to filling a coaching vacancy for which he says there are "a couple" of potential candidates.
Kyrgios will spearhead Australia's first-round tie against the Czech Republic at Kooyong from Friday, having trained for a week in Miami while visiting his girlfriend Ajla Tomljanovic in the window opened by his dramatic second-round loss to Andreas Seppi at Melbourne Park. The world No.15 said he was managing his knee problems and confident, too, of handling his emotions in the cocoon of a team environment led by captain Lleyton Hewitt.
![Optimistic: Nick Kyrgios and Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt.](/web/20170202175507im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/1/7/i/v/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gu25uh.png/1485844041534.jpg)
"I think playing Davis Cup is going to improve my general well-being," he said. "I think this week it's good chemistry... and it makes me happy being with these guys and getting out on the practice court and training, where usually when I'm by myself I struggle to find that motivation.
"When I'm out here with these guys I train and I enjoy myself, so I think these weeks are pretty crucial for someone around my time and career, so I'm not gonna miss these weeks."
Unlike Bernard Tomic, of course, with Jordan Thompson set to fill the No.2 singles slot, and No.1 Kyrgios practising after the main group on Tuesday afternoon during a session that was closed to the media after 15 minutes. And while Hewitt is an ally and mentor he believes will make a difference at courtside against a Czech team missing world No.12 Tomas Berdych, options for a more permanent coaching arrangement are being considered.
"II think it's something I've got to do moving forward. I've got to 13 in the world without one, so hopefully with a coach I can improve my game and get there," Kyrgios said. "It's not so much me being a bad listener, it's just finding someone that I know has my best interests at heart. It's tough to just bring someone on the team that's not willing to care about me as a person first, and tennis second, so I've got find the right person."
Kyrgios nominated defending champion Novak Djokovic as another who did not handle his Australian Open campaign as well as he could have, and admitted he was "obviously struggling" afterwards. "Mentally it was tough, but a lot of people [provided] a lot of support. Obviously, Rusty [Hewitt] has been helping me through it, and I think this week's crucial for me – bounce back, get back out there and try and enjoy it again. Yeah, I'm feeling good."
Was the Seppi debacle and media room confessional that followed a "line-in-the-sand" moment? "Kind of," Kyrgios said, admitting he had wanted to do better in his home slam, but stressing that, at 21, there was still much more to come. "It's not like I'm at the end of my career and I'm trying to chase grand slams. I'm still working through it, still trying to learn how to play, develop my game, so I think time's on my side."
Kyrgios was travelling, so had seen little of the marvellous men's final, but said he was supporting Federer, as "hands-down the greatest of all time". The veteran Williams sisters, too, have been inspiring for a player who is willing himself to work and commit, and some weeks succeeds, other weeks doesn't, but can see what it will take to get there.
"I can learn a lot from the final, but I think there's potential there, but there's a lot of work to do. I've got to improve a lot of things in my game, I've got to work harder. I take the easy way out a lot of times, so I've got to get more disciplined, hopefully get a coach soon. I think people tend to forget I've beaten nearly every best player in the world, so that gets overlooked."