Nick Kyrgios admits what he thought about Alex de Minaur when he was a teenager after playing against him

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Nick Kyrgios’ appearance at this year’s Australian Open will be his first since 2022, as he makes his return form injury.

There aren’t many ATP players that garner as much attention as Kyrgios, with the controversial star continuing to make headlines as the first Grand Slam of the year approaches.

Kyrgios returned to tennis at the Brisbane International, losing to Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the first round.

It was there that Kyrgios suffered an abdominal injury, which has many fans worried for his Australian Open participation.

Injuries have plagued the Aussie’s career over the last few years, as Kyrgios was told he may never play tennis again by a surgeon after an ‘experimental’ surgery on his wrist.

Kyrgios will be hoping to be back fit for the event which starts in just two days, but has spent time talking about some of the other top Australian stars ahead of their home Grand Slam tournament.

Nick Kyrgios wanted to ‘teach little kid’ Alex de Minaur a lesson when he practised with him as a teenager

In his pre-tournament press conference, Kyrgios looked back on one of his first encounters with Australian number one Alex de Minaur.

“I remember he was our orange boy at the Davis Cup,” he said.

“We’d won the tie, he needed to have some extra practice, I was like, I’ll go out there and teach this little kid a lesson.

“Like, I brought a beer out there, I remember, so I was like, this guy can’t be that good, it was a really close set, I was in my prime, he was only 17.

“I was like, this guy is going to be really solid.”

Kyrgios went on to praise De Minaur for how he has grown over the past few years, and dealt with the pressure of being the nation’s top-ranked player.

“To see how well he’s kind of taken it upon himself to be our number one player for the last three, four years, he’s grown,” he said.

“To deal with everything, the pressure of being our number one player, I was there, I didn’t always deal with it the best.

“He’s been a ridiculously good role model.”

The former Wimbledon finalist then predicted whether De Minaur can win a Grand Slam title.

“I genuinely think he’s a threat at any Grand Slam and any tournament he plays, he’s made the quarterfinals of I think every slam but AO [Australian Open],” said Kyrgios.

“He’s got a chance to win a slam, for sure, I think he does everything right.

“He’s improved little things in his game where I thought he needed to improve, he’s done that.”

Kyrgios then gave his thoughts on the other big names in Australian tennis and predicted whether they will have a successful tournament.

“Obviously Pop [Alexei Popyrin] is dangerous whenever he’s feeling good with that serve, winning the Masters event,” he said.

“I’ve known Tomo [Jordan Thompson] since basically he was in diapers.

“Just to see how well he’s transitioning, finally got into that seeding at a Grand Slam where it can really open up for him.

“He’s more than capable of doing some damage as well.

“All these Aussie guys are really good, we have a good crop of young guys coming through, as well, it’s a good time to be an Australian tennis fan.”

Who have Nick Kyrgios and Alex de Minaur been drawn against at the Australian Open?

The 2025 Australian Open draw has been made, and the top Australian stars can now prepare for their first-round matchups.

But who will Kyrgios, De Minaur, Jordan Thompson, and Alexei Popyrin be playing in the first round?

• [8] Alex de Minaur v Botic van de Zandschulp
• [PR] Nick Kyrgios v Jacob Fearnley
• [25] Alexei Popyrin v Corentin Moutet
• [27] Jordan Thompson v [Q] Dominik Koepfer

The four top Aussies haven’t been given the worst of draws, as they look to make their way into the Australian Open second round.

De Minaur will likely fancy himself to advance to his first quarter-final at Melbourne Park as the highest-ranked player in his section, but could potentially face a tough test against 2023 finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas in the fourth round.

Kyrgios on the other hand has been dealt a tough draw, with world number two Alexander Zverev potentially awaiting him in the third round.

It remains to be seen how the Australian stars get on at this year’s tournament, but they’ll all no doubt be hoping to get off to a strong start, when action begins on January 12.