Nick Kyrgios is confident the knee problem that he played with during his Brisbane International triumph will not hinder his chances at the Australian Open.
Kyrgios picked up his first title on home soil on Sunday as he beat Ryan Harrison 6-4 6-2, setting him up nicely for the opening grand slam of 2018 in Melbourne.
The 22-year-old has only been past the third round once in six attempts at his home major, suffering a quarter-final defeat to Andy Murray in 2015.
Kyrgios was playing with tape on his left knee in Brisbane, but the underlying issue is not one he expects will trouble him at Melbourne Park.
"The front of my knee gets better the warmer it gets," he said. "That's kind of the gist with tendons, as I've been told.
"The more load and the more movement you give it, the better it gets.
"Right now, I feel pretty good. I played nine, no 12... How many sets did I play this week? 11. So, I feel pretty good. I feel good."
One thing that did concern Kyrgios during the Brisbane final was being denied a medical timeout to reaffix the strapping on his knee, a decision he questioned at a change of ends.
The 22-year-old added: "I find it strange that I can't take a medical timeout for taping, which takes a couple of minutes, but someone can leave the court for up to 10 minutes or what's reasonable and it's just a bit of a grey area, it doesn't make sense.
"It just slips a bit, the taping. Because I've got the back of my knee taped as well, so it just slips. I just got it re-taped and it feels good.
"At the change of ends, I was just wondering about the rule, why I couldn't take a medical timeout for the knee taping.
"I was just saying, for instance, if my knee was to keep me out of the Australian Open – who knows, it could – why couldn't I get a medical timeout? I was just seeing where the line is. It was just professional curiosity."
Comments
SHARE