Mats Wilander suggests what a possible Australian Open showdown between Nick Kyrgios and Jannik Sinner could look like.
The Australian will make his Grand Slam return on home soil and he wants to take on arguably the biggest challenge in men’s tennis at present.
Jannik Sinner has not lost a Grand Slam match on hard courts since 2023 and he lost only six matches overall in 2024.
Given his lack of match play compared to the World number one, it will be a tough battle for Kyrgios, but he is relishing the challenge.
What does Mats Wilander think could happen if Nick Kyrgios faced Jannik Sinner at the Australian Open?
Nick Kyrgios plays a fearless and electric brand of tennis that attracts thousands of fans to come and watch him play.
The ATP Tour has missed these performances from Kyrgios’ play in the two years he was out of action due to knee and wrist injuries. He is very keen to play in front of his home fans and wants to play against the top-ranked player in men’s tennis.
It would certainly be a blockbuster match if they played one another, and Mats Wilander would be keen how Sinner handles playing against a motivated Kyrgios in front of his home fans.
“Nick Kyrgios says he wants to disrupt and antagonise if he plays. He’s disrupting matches at the best of times against any player,” Wilander told Eurosport.
“It would be interesting to see if Jannik Sinner could hold and keep his cool if he played someone like Nick Kyrgios on, let’s say, the old Vodafone, John Cain Arena.
“They let all the ground pass holders at the Australian Open come in, so the average age in the crowd goes from 60 years old down to 16 years old or maybe 20 and some of them are having a few beers too many.
“That atmosphere would be interesting to see if Sinner could keep his cool if Nick Kyrgios really gets on top of him.”
What does Mats Wilander think Nick Kyrgios could do if he wins the Australian Open?
Kyrgios came closest to winning a Grand Slam when he reached the final of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships. He lost to Novak Djokovic in four sets, but he maintains the desire to claim one of tennis’ four biggest titles.
Should he achieve this goal, Wilander thinks Kyrgios thinks he would be able to do something special in the game of tennis.
“I think Nick has revolutionised the sport in many ways. Players are actually using part of his arsenal or his repertoire,” the Swede added.
“Now, here’s another statement, if Nick goes out, and he plays his absolute best tennis, and if he wins the Grand Slam, I believe maybe for the first time ever, a single player would have ticked every single box that you can tick.
“He is competitive, the level is high, the mental attitude is brilliant, the repertoire and the variety of crazy shot-making and the jokes he cracks, no one has ever done it all. Nick Kyrgios has a chance to do it all.”
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