|
Tanking has been one of the many accusations levelled in the
past at the 27-year-old, who delights fans with his talent but
draws criticism for his on-court antics and temperament.
He breezed past Marcos Giron 6-3 6-2 in under an hour on Tuesday
at the Washington Open in his first singles match since going
down to Novak Djokovic in his maiden Grand Slam final at
Wimbledon.
"I'm playing for a lot more than myself, and I feel like I'm
just in a totally different mindset," Kyrgios told reporters.
"I think a couple years ago, after having a great Grand Slam
result, I think I would have struggled to find motivation,
obviously probably a bit more selfish.
"But now I feel like I had some time off in Bahamas, but I was
still forcing myself to train every day. Coming to these
tournaments in shape and ready to go ... I just have so much
motivation at the moment."
Kyrgios said he found it difficult to deal with the defeat to
Djokovic, who won his seventh Wimbledon title and 21st major
overall when he rallied to a 4-6 6-3 6-4 7-6(3) win.
"I think ever since I picked up a tennis racket I had coaches in
my ear saying the Wimbledon trophy is the highest accolade you
can achieve in the sport," he said. "To have that opportunity
and come up short wasn't easy for me to stomach."
But the Australian was confident he will have more chances at
major glory.
"I don't think we thought it was possible to contend for Grand
Slams, but now it's a genuine thing," he said. "I think (it's)
all about motivation and we are on the same page."
(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; editing by Peter
Rutherford)
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
|
