Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios has conceded that an inadequate preparation in the off season, may have cost him dearly in this year’s Australian Open. In the end, Kyrgios’s performance and the manner of his loss only served to perpetuate his controversial status in the Australian sporting landscape with his legion of fans and admirers counterbalanced by his detractors and critics.

The 21-year-old ‘bad boy’ of Australian tennis lasted only two rounds in the Australian Open this week, before bowing out in dramatic fashion against veteran Italian Andreas Seppi after a three hour plus match, at Hisense arena, which ended in a marathon fifth set.

The Italian came back from two sets down to wear down the overwhelming crowd favourite, winning 1-6, 6-7, 6-4,6-2,10-8, and dashing the fans’ hopes of seeing Kyrgios progress into the third round. The unforced error count was telling with Kyrgios’s totalling 68, almost doubling Seppi’s 36.

It all seemed to be going to script for Kyrgios, after he cruised through the first set, and then won the second set tie-break seemingly headed to a straight sets victory against the low ranked Italian journeyman. However the Australian hit a road block at 4-4 in the third set, when an increasingly frustrated Kyrgios was docked a point for a second code-violation (racket abuse, following on from audible obscenity), before going on to lose the third set 6-4. He then lost the fourth 6-2, audibly questioning his box regarding his physical preparation. At times, he also appeared to be visibly discomfited by soreness in the groin area, at other times showing very restricted footwork, and appearing to just want to finish the set as soon as possible.

Kyrgios recovered to fight out an epic final set which tested the nerve of both players. For a moment it seemed Kyrgios might ride the wave of overwhelming crowd support to victory, but Seppi saved a match point before eventually taking out the match 10-8. As he left the arena, sections of the Hisense crowd booed Kyrgios.

In his post-match media conference, Kyrgios expressed his disappointment at the result and indicated that a lack of suitable physical preparation and lingering injury was responsible for the change in fortunes during the match, whilst also praising his opponent’s performance.

“I didn’t have the best preparation coming into the Australian Open. Pretty banged up, my body. You know, I don’t even know what the score was in the end. Was it 10-8? 10-8 in the fifth, getting booed off, definitely not the best feeling.”

Kyrgios hinted that he perhaps spent a little too much time playing basketball than he should’ve in his off-season.

“Poor management, I guess. I think I didn’t have the best preparation. It’s on me. Did a couple things in the off-season that I’m probably not going to do next time. It’s on me, I guess. My body’s not in good enough shape. You live and you learn,” he said.

As well as the lack of physical preparedness, Kyrgios also conceded that he could benefit by working with a coach, particularly regarding the mental aspects of his game.

“Mental side of things are big for me. That’s where a coach would be good. But obviously I wasn’t physically 100 per cent. But it’s mental, as well. A massive part of it.
“But, I mean, he played well, as well. Thought he served great today. I got a lot of respect for him. He fights hard. He deserved it,” Kyrgios said.

“The coach is always a question mark for me. I think that’s one area where I obviously need to start taking a bit more seriously. I mean, I don’t think there’s anyone in the top 100 without a coach except for me. That needs to change.
“I knew that for a long time. I kind of like the freedom of just going out there, doing whatever, going with the flow a little bit. I just like being comfortable.
“Got to start taking it more seriously. Pre-season is an important part of the year. You build foundations for the rest of the year. Yeah, it’s on me.”