Alex de Minaur: Tennis world looking forward to return of 'incredible talent' Nick Kyrgios ahead of 2025 Australian Open
Published 10/12/2024 at 08:39 GMT
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Alex de Minaur has given his view on Nick Kyrgios' return to tennis, with the 2022 Wimbledon runner-up set to play the 2025 Australian Open. De Minaur says his fellow Australian is an "incredible talent" and there will be "a lot of eyeballs" on his return. De Minaur, who won the Ultimate Tennis Showdown Grand Final, also said he feels he is going in the "right direction doing the right things".
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Alex de Minaur expects the "whole tennis world will be very excited" to see the return of "incredible talent" Nick Kyrgios.
Kyrgios, who made the Wimbledon final in 2022, has played just one match in the last two years due to injuries.
He is set to make his long-awaited return at the World Tennis League later this month before playing the Brisbane International and Australian Open.
It will be the first time Kyrgios has played competitively in Australia in three years.
"I think everyone in the whole tennis world is looking forward to having him back," De Minaur told Eurosport about the return of his fellow Australian.
"He's obviously an incredible talent and has done some great things in the sport, so I'm sure the whole tennis world will be very excited to watch him play and compete again.
"He's been getting back from rehab, trying to do his best. I’ve seen he’s starting in Brisbane, so I'm sure there's going to be a lot of eyeballs on that."
De Minaur was speaking at the Ultimate Tennis Showdown Grand Final in London, which he won by beating Holger Rune in the final.
The result caps off an excellent year for De Minaur, who reached a career-high No. 6 in the world rankings and qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time.
That was despite a hip injury troubling him during the season and forcing him to miss the Asia swing.
"I think I got a little bit hard done by this year with the injury kind of stopping me at the peak of my rankings, so I'm definitely on the right track in the right direction doing the right things, and I'm feeling great on the court," he said.
"So, hopefully I can start 2025 with a new slate, fully fit and hopefully keep on the same track momentum that I started last year."
Asked whether there are any areas of improvements he is targeting over the off-season, De Minaur said: "Keep working, keep getting stronger. These guys hit the ball so hard, so I've got to adapt, I've got to evolve and if I want to be among the best tennis players in the world, there's no other way than working for it, so that's the plan."
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De Minaur will have a big goal at the start of 2025: making it to the quarter-finals of his home Grand Slam for the first time.
In 2024, he reached the quarters of all the Slams except the Australian Open – and he has lost in the fourth round in Melbourne for the last three seasons in a row.
"There's nothing I would like more than to do well in Australia, so I'm doing my best to get there in the best possible state of mind," he said.
"Fitness wise, I just want to peak there, and hopefully I can go out there and play some of my best tennis."
Watch the 2025 Australian Open live on Eurosport and discovery+
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