Nick Kyrgios doesn’t need any kind of pep talk to fire up for Roger Federer.
Tennis’s most mercurial talent is pumped for the pair’s third-round US Open showdown on the sport’s biggest stage in New York on Saturday (Sunday AEST).
“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Kyrgios said about the blockbuster at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
There was nothing fun about Kyrgios’s controversial talking to from chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani during his second-round win over Pierre-Hugues Herbert, with both player and official lambasted for the incident.
Kyrgios maintains there was no “coaching” involved, while the USTA has since cleared Lahyani of any major wrongdoing, saying the Swede went “beyond protocol” but will continue to umpire at the tournament.
Kyrgios wants to move on to and a match-up with arguably the game’s greatest player is the perfect opportunity to refocus.
The Australian knows nothing less than his best will be good enough.
And he believes he can win, just as he did the first time they met three years ago on clay in Madrid.
That was the first of three classic encounters that have all been decided in third-set tiebreakers.
In fact, five of their previous six sets contested have been tiebreakers.
Fans can expect more of the same this time around, with Kyrgios relishing his nothing-to-lose opportunity.
“It’s always going into a match as the underdog,” he said.
“I’m going to put a lot of expectation on myself to play well. I’m not going to go out there and roll over and be happy to be out there.
“I do believe I can win. But it’s better to be the underdog than have all the pressure, for sure.”
This will be the pair’s first meeting at a slam, changing the dynamics.
“We have never played before best of five,” Kyrgios said.
“Yeah, for sure, to win three sets off Federer, you have to play some pretty consistent tennis. But he’s never played me best of five, either.”
As ever, Kyrgios’s explosive serve – his biggest weapon – will be key.
“His chip return is the best the game has ever seen. There has never been a better chip return ever,” Kyrgios said when asked what made Federer great.
“I think if you took that shot away, he wouldn’t be as good because he neutralises big serves as well. He turns it into pretty much instant offence.
“His serve and first shot (are) unbelievable, very unpredictable.
“And he’s unbelievably efficient. Never gets tired, doesn’t seem like it. His movements are so efficient.
“Those would be the three things. He’s efficient, serve and first ball, and chip return.”
The victor will play either Kyrgios’s unseeded countryman John Millman or Kazakh Mikhail Kukushkin on Monday for a place in the quarter-finals – and possibly against revitalised Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic.