KYRGIOS IN LOVE
NICK Kyrgios may not have a coach but he seems to have locked in a hitting partner in girlfriend Ajla Tomljanovic after the pair traded groundstrokes at Pat Rafter Arena.
The couple’s relationship appeared to be on the rocks earlier this year when the current world No.21 was spotted with two teenage girls in a nightclub after an early Wimbledon exit.
The incident prompted the Croatian-Australian tennis pro to delete her social media accounts and then reactivated them without any photos of the couple, who had been dating for two years.
However, the pair have rekindled their romance in a reunion that has coincided with Tomljanovic’s return to the WTA circuit after more than one year out with a shoulder injury.
The former world No.47 has risen to 118, after starting the year ranked 928. Kyrgios is adamant their relationship will only help both of them on court.
“It’s when I’m with her that I am at my happiest,’‘ Kyrgios, 22, said.
“It’s good to have her around and it’s good to see her healthy again.
“She was out for so long and she’s nearly top 100 again, so it’s a good achievement.”
The pair’s light-hearted hit finished with the 24year-old Tomljanovic crunching several winners past the maligned Australian on Wednesday, who admitted he didn’t always let her win.
Kyrgios does not plan on adding a full-time coach to his support staff in 2018, with the Canberran intent on finding a mentor with his “best interests at heart”.
That hasn’t stopped him tinkering with his own game, with more emphasis on weights, a new diet and less basketball key to overcoming hip complaints.
“I haven’t got a coach; I will just go about my thing the same way I did this year,” he said.