The Star Malaysia

KYRGIOS STILL SEARCHING FOR SUITABLE COACH

Kyrgios still searching for a suitable coach

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SYDNEY: Australia’s Nick Kyrgios said 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 temperamen­tal 21-year-old – who plays in the Davis Cup World Group tie against the Czech Republic beginning on Friday – acknowledg­ed after his second-round 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 No. 15 after his early Melbourne Park exit, saying that he was highly talented but needed to deal with behavioura­l issues. w

Kyrgios said he had time on his side but admitted that “there’s a lot of work to do”.

“I’ve got to improve a lot of things in my game, I’ve got to work harder.

“I take the easy way out a lot of times, so I’ve got to get more discipline­d, hopefully get a coach soon.

“I think people tend to forget I’ve beaten nearly every best player in the world, so that gets overlooked.”

The Davis Cup World Group opening-round clash takes place at Kooyong in Melbourne on Feb 3-5. — AFP

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 ??  ?? Finding the right one: Nick Kyrgios has been without a coach since splitting with Todd Larkham in 2015. — AP
Finding the right one: Nick Kyrgios has been without a coach since splitting with Todd Larkham in 2015. — AP

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