Eight months after scoffing at the ATP world rankings, Nick Kyrgios has moved up 100 places — and he might not be done yet.
It was back in January, Kyrgios, 27, started the year in the 93rd spot. Soon after he dropped outside the top 100 and slid as far down as 137th in March.
All along though the outspoken Australian never feared about his slide down the rankings.
“Honestly, if I’m ranked 1000 or 10 in the world I know what I’m capable of and everyone knows what I’m capable of on Tour,” he said in January.
“I’m not a player that hasn’t come from themselves – I talk a lot but I also have beaten a lot of players and I’ve won a lot of tournaments so that’s not something I’m focusing on,” he said.
“I just want to go out there have fun and I want to put on a good performance.
“It’s the Australian summer and people expect me to put on a good show and I think that I’m still capable of doing that.
“I won Acapulco unseeded and I beat four top-10 players … I think the level of tennis has never been this deep, everyone can play, everyone’s capable of doing very, very well.”
Despite his runner-up finish at the All England Courts not counting towards his ATP ranking because of Wimbledon’s decision to exclude Russian and Belarusian players because of the war in Ukraine, Kyrgios has now moved inside the top 30 with his round of 16 win over Alex by Minaur on Friday.
Watch Tennis Live with beIN SPORTS on Kayo. Live Coverage of ATP + WTA Tour Tournaments including Every Finals Match. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
After starting the tournament ranked 37, Kyrgios has moved to No.27 in the world after his two-set clinical showing at the ATP Montreal Masters
He will climb as high as No.21 should he prevail over eighth-seeded Hubert Hurkacz in the quarter-finals on Saturday and could move inside the top 15 should he win the tournament. He has now won 15 of his past 16 single matches, including his past nine straight.
In a boost to his US Open hopes, Kyrgios’ victory over de Minaur means the volatile Australian will be seeded at the grand slam event.
“It was a goal, more so that I don’t get one of the big titans or gods the first-round, I can actually work my way through the draw, if the draw is kind,” he said.
“I always feel as if my game is right there. I feel like no matter who I play, today I felt amazing, and let’s keep it going.”
The Tennis world was blown away by Kyrgios’ clinical showing in Canada.
De Minaur had few answers against his Davis Cup teammate, who came to the net early and reeled off 22 winners and just nine unforced errors in the 62 minute demolition.
It was the type of tennis that saw Kyrgios progress through his maiden Slam final, where he ultimately went down to Novak Djokovic in a five-set epic.
.
