Kyrgios still in hunt for coach
SYDNEY: Australia’s Nick Kyrgios said Tuesday he was still looking to hire a coach after his spectacular Grand Slam meltdown in Melbourne, admitting it was “something I’ve got to do moving forward”.
The tempermental 21-year- old — who plays in the Davis Cup World Group tie against the Czech Republic beginning on Friday — acknowledged after his secondround Australian Open defeat that he needed coaching.
Kyrgios said he had “a couple” of candidates in mind, without naming anyone, but added that the right person needed to have Kyrgios’s “best interests at heart”.
“I think it’s something I’ve got to do moving forward,” he told Fairfax Media.
“I’ve got to (world number) 13 in the world without one, so hopefully with a coach I can improve my game and get there.
“It’s not so much me being a bad listener, it’s just finding someone that I know has my best interests at heart.
“It’s tough to bring someone on the team that’s not willing to care about me as a person first, and tennis second, so I’ve got find the right person.”
Kyrgios has been without a coach since parting with Todd Larkham before Wimbledon in 2015.
Tennis greats slammed the current world number 15 after his early Melbourne Park exit, saying that he was highly talented but needed to deal with behavioural issues.
Kyrgios said he had time on his side but admitted that “there’s a lot of work to do”. —