Some comfort and joy on court for Kyrgios

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 this year when the current world No.21 was sighted partying 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 reactivate 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 strong return to the WTA circuit after more than a 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 next year.

“It’s when I’m with her that I am at my happiest,’‘ said Kyrgios, 22. “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 lighthearted hit finished with the 24-year-old Tomljanovic crunching several winners past the maligned Australian, who admitted he didn’t always let her win.

Kyrgios does not plan to add a full-time coach to his support staff next year, saying he is 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. “But I’m looking after my diet better, training a bit harder in the gym and doing a lot of rehab.”

Kyrgios will begin his summer at the Brisbane International from New Year’s Eve, while he is also set to appear at Melbourne Park for the Tie Break Tens exhibition on January 10 along with former world No.1 Novak Djokovic before the Australian Open.

AAP