Nick Kyrgios: "Rankings obviously don't mean anything"
Nick Kyrgios (ATP No. 26) spoke about the ranking, but also about his loneliness on the tour.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Sep 07, 2022, 11:32 am
Nick Kyrgios is currently playing the tennis of his life: After the boisterous clay court season, Kyrgios turned to grass, with the highlight of the WImbledon final, which he lost to Novak Djokovic in four sets. And probably would have won against most other opponents.
The Australian has also moved up the rankings again, despite the lack of Wimbledon points, up to the top 30 - after falling out of the top 100 in the spring. But the ranking has no meaning for him anyway, explained Kyrgios in an interview with tennis MAGAZIN . "I don't think rankings do justice to skill," he said. "It rewards consistency. I beat Rublev 6-3, 6-0 in Miami. He was number 7 in the world. So obviously rankings don't mean anything.”
Nick Kyrgios: "I was lonely on the tennis tour"
The fact that he completely skipped the clay court season was mainly due to his ties to his homeland, Kyrgios also explained that the time at home was more important to him than tennis on red clay. Kyrgios had often spoken about loneliness on the tour, a general problem for Australians in the tennis circus - a short detour "Down Under" during two tournaments is hardly possible.
Traveling and loneliness, combined with high expectations, also led him to take drugs, Kyrgios admitted. “I was 22, 23 years old, traveling seven, eight months a year. I was lonely on the tennis tour. It was depressing. I was fighting with myself, trying to be someone else because I couldn't cope with all the expectations. They wanted me to win Grand Slam tournaments, but that wasn't what I wanted. Then I started doing drugs and it got out of control.”
In the meantime, Kyrgios seems to have found a good balance between time on the tour and at home. However, he still does not necessarily have big goals in terms of major victories. "I'm more than happy with what I've achieved," he said. "I'm 27 years old, I'm healthy, I have a beautiful girlfriend and a home in the Bahamas."
The US Open is currently coming up for Kyrgios. There he meets his buddy Thanasi Kokkinakis on Tuesday night.
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