Cup can banish slam nightmares for Nick

NICK Kyrgios is banking on the prospect of Davis Cup glory to erase the memories of a depressing grand slam season.

Devastated after a 6-3, 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 first-round US Open loss to Queensland’s John Millman, Kyrgios described his 2017 battle with injury as “diabolic”. And he admitted he does not care enough to commit fully to tennis, suggesting coach Sebastien Grosjean would be better off with a more dedicated player.

“I keep letting people down,” Kyrgios said in another post-match confessional, conceding there were more focused players who would be a better fit for Grosjean.

“I’m not good enough for him [Grosjean]. He’s very dedicated. He’s an unbelievable coach. He probably deserves a player who is probably more dedicated to the game than I am. He deserves a better athlete than me.”

Asked to elaborate, Kyrgios said: “I’m not dedicated to the game at all.

“There are players out there who are more dedicated, who want to get better, who strive to get better. The ‘one-percenters’. I’m not that guy.”

Kyrgios was hampered by shoulder soreness in his fifth consecutive grand slam loss to a lower-ranked player.

“I wasn’t feeling it at all and then on one serve I lost power in my arm. Just on my serve,” he said.

“One serve, then completely dead. It’s so dead and numb. It’s incredibly weak. It’s just so annoying.

“The last three months has been a nightmare, really.

“I had such a good Indian Wells, Miami, and then Davis Cup — we had a good [quarterfinal] win over America, and then things just went downhill from there really.

“I have had a diabolic year at these slams. It doesn’t surprise me. It’s just the story of my career, really.”