Nick
Kyrgios praised
Carlos Alcaraz for his rapid growth just before the start of
Wimbledon.
The
33rd-ranked player has been sidelined for the past year due to knee injuries
and has only played one match in 2023. As a result, he will enter the third
Grand Slam of the year without recording any victories since October, when he
defeated Kamil Majchrzak in the Tokyo Open round of 16.
After an
impressive 2022 season, where he won the doubles title at the Australian Open,
claimed the singles title at the ATP 500 Washington Open, and reached the final
at Wimbledon, as well as making deep runs in most tournaments he competed in,
compiling a 37-10 win-loss record.
On Monday,
he will play his second match of the year, having suffered a defeat in the
Stuttgart Open against China's Wu Yibing and showing a lower level of play
compared to 2022. Kyrgios was asked about the time he has been away from the
court and whether he has kept up with the ATP tour matches:
"I
wouldn't watch too much tennis. There's a couple players that I enjoy watching.
If they're playing, I might give a look at live scores. Every time 'Foe is
playing or Thanasi is playing, or anyone like this, I like watching,"
Kyrgios said.
Kyrgios
commented on the performance of the world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and highlighted
the impressive results he has achieved in a short period of time.
"Obviously
Grand Slam finals. I watched a lot of the AO. Seeing what Alcaraz has been able
to put together in such a short period of time is nuts. He's got such
discipline and he just loves the sport,"
Nick Kyrgios said.
"He's
fun to watch. He's got so much discipline and so much desire to do well, but
he's got that showman about him, as well, which I like. He loves getting the
crowd involved. He loves getting people chanting his name, which is pretty
cool," he added.
On Monday,
Kyrgios will face a tough challenge in his debut against David Goffin, a
quarterfinalist in 2022 who is also going through a difficult time in his
tennis career and is currently ranked No. 123. In fact, Goffin received a wild
card from the tournament organizers to enter the main draw, as his ranking
would have required him to go through qualifying rounds.
