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By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday March 12, 2022

 
Nick Kyrgios

Nick Kyrgios is in a better headspace than he has been in years, and it makes him more dangerous on the court.

Photo Source: AP

Nick Kyrgios says he’s never felt better – mentally or physically – than he does right now. The 26-year-old has struggled with injuries and battled what he calls “normal human issues” over the years, but something has clicked and he now is feeling extremely upbeat about life – and tennis.

Tennis Express

The former World No.13, who is into the second round in both singles and doubles at the BNP Paribas Open, says the most important thing for him is to start the day on a positive note.

“I’m not thinking forward, I take it day by day, that’s my process, I wake up and try to be positive and try to be better every day,” he said. “But as for goals, for me it’s hard sometimes to just wake up in a positive mindset. That’s a win for me.”

Kyrgios also says that he feels healthier than he has in quite some time. His knee issue has vanished, and he’s feeling fresh again on the court – a dangerous prospect for his opponents.

“My left knee was just really bad for about a year and a half,” Kyrgios told a gathering of reporters on Thursday evening. “I wasn’t able to get to a point where I was even 60 percent. Played all of last year basically going out to matches with five or six painkillers… I just wasn’t able to get the maintenance and the tender love and care that my knee needed to be as good as it is now.

“Physically I feel not hindered anymore, with movement. Tonight I was running for drop shots, a lot of movement side to side, I can slide again with no pain, on my serve I can land with no pain, it’s just like I was able to play before but it was something in my mind that I was feeling, it was something that was definitely weighing my game down.”

It all bodes well for the talented if mercurial Aussie, who enters the tournament as a wild card and with a ranking of 132.

Combine good health, a wave of positivity, and the otherworldly talent that we all know Kyrgios possesses, and we are looking at a potential resurfacing.

He’ll face Federico Delbonis in second-round action on Saturday at Indian Wells. On Sunday he’ll be back in action with his mate Thanasi Kokkinakis – the duo will face Jack Sock and John Isner in the second round.

We won’t be seeing Kyrgios on the clay this season, but he plans to go to Miami next, followed by Houston. After that a trip home and big plans to make a serious dent on the grass.

“I’ll go to Houston after Miami,” he said. “And then I’ll go to Bahamas for a couple days, and then I’ll go back home for a month and a half, two months, and then I’ll just hit Europe. Obviously I’ll hit Stuttgart, Mallorca, Halle – obviously the grass is a period where I feel like I can contend for titles and still push every single player on the planet. I’m going to go there and be confident every match I play and I will be excited.”

The ranking next to the name doesn’t make a lot of sense at the moment, but that should change quickly. In good health and of sound mind, expect Kyrgios to be a factor wherever he plays this spring and summer.


 

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