Tennis star Nick Kyrgios has claimed he is the best grass-court player in the world ahead of Wimbledon.
Kyrgios has once again decided to skip the French Open in order to focus his attention on Wimbledon and he is certainly feeling confident about his chances. The 27-year-old began the year ranked outside the top 100, but is now ranked 76th after a strong start to 2022.
He won the Australian Open men's doubles title alongside Thanasi Kokkinakis - his first taste of Grand Slam glory - and believes he is in the midst of a "resurgence year". And having opted to miss the European clay-court season in a bid to focus on Wimbledon, Kyrgios believes he will be at his best on grass.
During his career, Kyrgios has won six singles titles, but never on a grass court. However, he has twice been a beaten semi-finalist on grass and notably reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon as a teenager in 2014.
And when asked who he though the best in the world was ahead of this year's Wimbledon, Kyrgios told the Sydney Morning Herald: "I mean, on the grass, I'd say me."
In an interview with Channel Nine last month, Kyrgios opened up about his ambitions for the rest of the year, saying: "Something about this year has just been different. I've played five or six events and I've gone pretty well in pretty much every one I've played and I've beaten a lot of the top players in the world this year.
"I guess it's more of a resurgence year, just going out there and showing people that I don't have to go out there and play all the time, [that] I can still be at the top of the game. I'm just enjoying it and doing it my way.
"I play for a lot of people. I feel like I'm very relatable. A lot of kids and people look up to me when I play. If someone like me can make it this far and achieve what I've achieved, I think it gives them a lot of hope.
"Obviously, I'm 27 now, so I’ve got to provide a bit of money, but it's just a lot of fun; the tennis tour, travelling around the world, it's a pretty nice lifestyle. I want to soak it up while I can."
