Nick Kyrgios ‘devastated’ after quarterfinal defeat to Karen Khachanov as he destroys two rackets on court
Kyrgios, 20, who was beaten in four straight sets in the first two quarterfinals following his upset in the last eight, is devastated by his quarterfinal exit after feeling that he has been playing one of his better tennis seasons
Kyrgios says he is still struggling to reach the same level as his last two Australian Open titles, although he said he does not think he has lost that spark in his game
He says that the injury that ended his 2018 season was “a blessing in disguise” and he was hoping he could have had a full season with his new hip in 2019
Kyrgios says he is ready to pick up the pieces of his shattered season, but the pain of defeat remains “sore and raw”
Kyrgios admitted in his post-match press conference that he is trying to get back to the level he held at the beginning of the season, but his game is nowhere near what it once was
He added: “I’m just devastated”.
Kyrgios says he still has a lot of work to do to reach the same level he held at the beginning of the season and thinks he needs to improve on his mental game at the same time.
He said: “What’s next? I’m not sure. How do you get there? I’ve got to come back to the game. But I’m not sure.
“I’ve still got that in my game, and my mental games, and I have to find a way to get back to the level that I was at the beginning of the season. That’s my goal, to make sure I stay there and continue to have a good season, and I think I can.
“But we’ll see how it works.”
Kyrgios’ defeat came despite being given