Nick Kyrgios declared his first-round US Open victory over good friend and compatriot Thanasi Kokkinakis ‘one of the most uncomfortable matches I’ve played’, despite his impressive performance in his 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) victory.
“Probably one of the most uncomfortable matches I’ve played in my career,” Kyrgios described the contest in the first answer of his post-match press conference, which took place after midnight local time.
“Just from the get-go I was trying to block out, like, his body and just play the tennis ball. I was really trying to not look at him at all. And I think that helped me.”
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Kyrgios revealed how close the Australian pair are off the court, in concert with their Grand Slam-winning doubles partnership.
“I feel like there’s two or three players that after tennis I’m going to stay in contact with until I probably die to be honest, and Thanasi is one of them. It’s just really hard,” he said.
“I feel like he had a really good opportunity – the way his body is, the way he’s holding up physically and his belief to play match after match – I feel like he had a really good opportunity to go far in the draw.
“So when I saw our names – it’s unfortunate. The way I’m playing, the goals that I have, I felt like I have a really good opportunity in this tournament as well. I saw his name and I was like, a mixture of emotions.
“It is what it is. I felt like I dealt with it pretty professionally, the first couple of sets were pretty much flawless.”
But, he said, ‘blocking out’ his opponent from his mind was far from simple.
“It’s never easy, (hearing) ‘game Kokkinakis’ is a reminder of who you are playing every time he wins a game. So it’s not easy.”
The 23rd seed at Flushing Meadows, who also rooms with Kokkinakis at many tournaments on tour, added he shared a locker room moment with his good friend after the match.
“Our lockers are next to each other [and] I walked over to the Thanasi and said, ‘Look, that was the most uncomfortable I’ve ever felt on a tennis court’,” Kyrgios added.
Kyrgios was given the honour of playing on Arthur Ashe Stadium on the opening night, following US Open great Serena Williams in what could have been her final match before retirement – though her 6-3 6-3 victory over Danka Kovinić delays that at least one more match.
Kyrgios said it was an honour to share the huge stage.
“Initially when you get the draw you get a rush of emotion and you don’t really know how to deal with it … the US Open isn’t going to have a bigger match. To follow that – to play one of my best friends after Serena’s possible last match and a record-breaking attendance. It’s insane, a night that I’m never going to forget.
“It was good. I felt like I’d rather play after Serena – the crowd was amazing still, the atmosphere was electric. It was fun.”
Just the buzz that she brought, you know, breaking history with the amount of people watching and buying tickets, it is incredible,” he added. “That is my goal, to grow the sport as much as I can.”
