ATP: Nick Kyrgios starts 2019 from an unusual position

Over the last few years, Nick Kyrgios has started a season as Australia’s best player, which has changed after a rather mixed 2018.

At the beginning of January 2018, everything was somehow still in order in the tennis world, at least in that of Nick Kyrgios. The now 23-year-old Australian not only defeated Grigor Dimitrov for the first time in the Brisbane semi-final at the beginning of the year, but also won the title in the final against Ryan Harrison.

A few days later, however, the Australian Open against the Bulgarians came to an end after hard four sets, and the 2018 campaign should not bring another title for Nick Kyrgios. The man from Canberra has only played 38 matches this year, 25 of them won. However, Kyrgios did not finish the season on the pitch, but rather next to it. Due to his elbow injury, Kyrgios did not start in Vienna, for example.

When Kyrgios returns to Brisbane at the turn of the year, it is out of a situation he is unfamiliar with: With ATP position 35, he is behind Alex de Minaur, who finished the year as the best Australian professional. De Minaur, who recently lost the final of the #NextGen-Masters in Milan in the final of Stefanos Tsitsipas, will also start his tennis year 2019 in the Pat Rafter Arena. There Kyrgios and de Minaur lost to the German team in the first round of the last traditional Davis Cup.

However, none of the two Australians will be the favourites in the 250cc event – this role is played by world runner-up Rafael Nadal. Regardless of the fact that the Spaniard hasn’t played a match since he gave up in the semi-finals of the US Open.

Also announced in Brisbane is Andy Murray, like Kyrgios a man who had ended his season early.