Unseeded for the first time at a Grand Slam tournament since the US Open in 2015, Nick Kyrgios was quickly reminded what life as an unseeded player at a major can be like.
The 23-year-old Aussie, once ranked as high as 13th but now sitting at No.51, received a brutal opening-round assignment at Australian Open 2019 in the form of Milos Raonic, the 16th seed.
Yet the Canadian is no ordinary No.16. We’re talking about a former world No.3 and a Wimbledon finalist in 2016, a player who was just a set away from the Australian Open final that same year. Raonic has been at the business end of the biggest tournaments in the men’s game, and it is one of the tougher first-round tasks imaginable.
Should Kyrgios prevail, it would be either three-time major champion Stan Wawrinka or former world No.10 Ernests Gulbis awaiting in round two.
It’s a daunting prospect, but Kyrgios is genuinely relishing the prospect of taking on a player of Raonic’s stature so soon.
“Right now I feel like I'm in a good spot mentally. People are going to think, 'you drew Raonic, it's a bad draw'. I don't really care,” Kyrgios said at Melbourne Park on Saturday.
“I'm healthy, happy, (will) go out there and compete. Whatever happens, happens.
“It's going to be incredibly tough. I'm secretly very excited just to be out here in the Aussie summer in front of the home crowd, to play a tough opponent. I can see it as a good thing. I have to be locked in from the get-go.
“I'm excited. He's playing well, so ... I'm looking forward to it.”
Both Kyrgios and Raonic – who have played six times, and split those meetings – have battled persistent physical problems over the past few years.
The Canadian in 2018 managed to work his way back towards the top of the game; he improved his ranking from No.40 in late February to return to the top 20 after reaching the final in Stuttgart, semifinals at Indian Wells and quarters at Wimbledon, Miami and Cincinnati.
The Australian went the other way. From the highs in January of winning his first title on home soil at the Brisbane International and reaching the fourth round at Melbourne Park, Kyrgios slipped from No.14 to 35th in a season where hip and elbow injuries restricted him to just 14 tournaments plus a Davis Cup tie.
He fell even further – outside the top 50 – when he lost in the second round of his Brisbane title defence.
But thankfully, that result was more down to rust, and an unlucky encounter with a spider that hospitalised him over Christmas, rather than lingering physical issues.
Even with no match play since October, Kyrgios was still able to send down 44 aces – very nearly an all-time record for a three-set ATP match – in his opening-round win over Ryan Harrison in Brisbane.
“I'm feeling good. Obviously had a spider bite around Christmas time. That's all fine now. My tournament in Brisbane didn't go as well as I planned. But just to get some matches there, obviously playing (exhibitions in) Sydney and Kooyong, I feel good,” he said.
“The off-season, being in Canberra at home was unbelievable. Just spending time with family, friends, take time away from the sport I think mentally recharged me a lot.
“The off-season went really quickly. But the Aussie summer is the best time of the year I think for all Australians. It's the most exciting. They love playing in front of the home crowd.
“I feel ready.”
