By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Monday December 19, 2022
2022 was a personal proving ground for Nick Kyrgios, who played with a renewed sense of purpose and reach his maiden major final.
Photo Source: Getty
With the 2022 tennis season done and dusted and in the rearview, Tennis Now is circling back to bask in the glory of what was a truly phenomenal tennis season.
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Though he didn’t achieve the ultimate goal of winning a major title, 2022 was a dazzling year for Australia’s Nick Kyrgios. The 27-year-old Canberra native harnessed all the talent in his body and soul to make a true run at the elite for the first time in years, as he won 37 of 47 matches on tour and reached his first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon.
Based on Kyrgios’ abundance of talent, it’s not a surprise, but given that the 6’4" freak of nature had always had difficulty producing consistent results on tour, the level of tennis that Kyrgios was able to sustain over the full season did come as a surprise.
Kyrgios managed his schedule and his body exceptionally well, spacing out his playing schedule as he skipped the clay season and peaked on the grass, where he went 12-3 overall, with semifinals in Stuttgart and Halle before he pushed through to the Wimbledon final and fell to seven-time champion Novak Djokovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(3).
Kyrgios went 6-4 vs the Top-10, 10-3 at the majors and 10-4 at the Masters 1000s, higher than his career average in all three categories, as he proved to himself and to the rest of the tour that he can be a factor on any hard court or grass court event that he plays.
Novak Djokovic, ahead of the pair’s clash at Wimbledon, summed up the rejuvanation of Kyrgios very well:
“I think between us players, we always know how dangerous he is, on grass particularly, because of his game, because of his attitude on the court being so confident, just going for it, being a very complete player,” he said. “It seems like mentally he's at a better state than what he was, where he was, some years ago. As I said, of course as time passes by, you're maturing, you're understanding yourself what you need to do in order to get yourself to the best possible, optimal state of mind, body, and soul in order to perform your best.”
Kyrgios was indeed in a very good mindset in 2022; he finally achieved balance in his schedule and in his mind, as he attacked his playing opportunities with passion.
The Aussie set the tone early in the season by winning the Australian Open doubles title with Thanasi Kokkinakis and rode the momentum through the spring and summer, where he was a force on hard courts. Kyrgios won singles and doubles titles at the Citi Open and reached the quarterfinals at the US Open, falling to Karen Khachanov in a tight five-setter that ended his Grand Slam season.
He often attributed his improved mental state to the fact that he was playing for something bigger than himself.
“I just feel like I'm playing for a lot more than myself,” Kyrgios said after knocking out defending champion Daniil Medvedev at the US Open. “I've just got a lot of people, a lot of support, and on the flip side I got a lot of people doubting me and trying to bring me down all the time as well.”
Now that Kyrgios has found a deeper sense of purpose on and off the court, and a surefire way to make his talents translate into consistent wins, it will be interesting to see if he can continue the trend and take the next step at a major in 2023.
Whether he does or not, 2022 will always be the year that Kyrgios showed the world that he is not far from achieving tennis’ ultimate dream.