Nick Kyrgios says he has become more “resilient” and is still maturing while he is playing the best tennis of his career.
He continued his hot streak on Wednesday (AEST), defeating Sebastian Baez 6-4 6-4 in their first round match at the Canadian Open in Montreal.
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Kyrgios had his serve broken for the first time since his loss in the Wimbledon final, but recovered to claim a straight sets win.
The Australian is in superb form after he won both the singles and doubles titles at the Citi Open in Washington DC last week.
But Kyrgios is unseeded in Montreal and will next face World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev, who he joked was far from the ideal opponent.
“I know I’ve got Medvedev next, which kind of sucks because against pretty much any player in the world right now I feel extremely confident,” Kyrgios told the Tennis Channel.
“Obviously I feel confident going up against him but we all know what he can produce. I’m a bit tired but I’m going to try and give him a good run.”
Kyrgios said having to play two matches in one day in Washington made him realize “that I can be really resilient at times”.
“In the past, I probably would have definitely pulled out of doubles,” he admitted.
“After the (Frances) Tiafoe match, I played Reilly (Opelka) and then Frances in the same day and came out the next day and played during the day basically.”
Kyrgios confessed he hadn’t always given 100 per cent effort on the court in the past but in a scary prospect to his rivals, he said he has turned a corner.
“I know at times I haven’t always been the best example going out on court, kind of not giving my best effort and all that,” he said.
“But I feel like when I have a week like DC, it kind of erases those things and shows how much I’ve grown. It was just a hell of a week, probably my favorite week of my career so far having my girlfriend and my team with me. And winning the doubles title was pretty special as well.
“I’m learning a lot about myself still to this day I’m maturing and hopefully I can keep having these good results.”
Kyrgios is now ranked World No. 37 and if he gets past Medvedev, a deep run at Montreal would ensure he secures a crucial seed at the US Open, which begins later this month.
Former US Open champion Andy Roddick believes Kyrgios is in such a purple patch he is one of the top three contenders to take out the last grand slam of the year.
“It’s a big, big deal to me that he goes into Washington, which is a pretty big event in the lead-up to the US Open,” Roddick said on The Rich Eisen Show.
“Brutal conditions… To go through singles and doubles and not to tap out mentally or physically is a big, big sign.
“I think it puts him into the top two, maybe three, favorites for the US Open.”
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