Kyrgios drops 'world's best' boast in quest for $1.5m

Nick Kyrgios boasted "I'm the champion subordinate successful the world" arsenic helium prepares to unfastened his Diriyah Tennis Cup rubric hunt against Cameron Norrie connected Thursday nighttime (AEDT).

The Australian's assurance is entity precocious after reaching the Wimbledon last this twelvemonth and winning the Australian Open doubles rubric with adjacent person Thanasi Kokkinakis.

Kyrgios bushed Norrie successful an accumulation lucifer successful Mexico successful November although the British prima holds a 2-1 head-to-head vantage successful ATP Tour meetings.

Watch Nick Kyrgios, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev astatine the Diriyah Tennis Cup from December 8-11. Streaming ad-free and unrecorded connected Stan Sport

Nick Kyrgios of Australia reacts successful his 2nd circular singles lucifer against Daniil Medvedev of Russia. (Getty)

Asked wherefore helium would triumph the Diriyah Tennis Cup, Kyrgios had a elemental answer: "I'm the champion subordinate successful the world."

The victor of the Kyrgios-Norrie clash advances to play satellite No.4 Stefanos Tsitsipas successful a beardown tract that besides includes Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev, Stan Wawrinka, Dominic Thiem, Matteo Berrettini, Hubert Hurkacz, Taylor Fritz, Andrey Rublev and Dominic Stricker.

Kyrgios believes his tally to the Wimbledon last could beryllium to beryllium a lightbulb moment.

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"In caller years it seemed to maine that I had mislaid my individuality connected the tennis court," the satellite No.22 said.

"Before the last astatine Wimbledon I couldn't sleep, it was what I had worked for each my life.

"I was 2 sets distant from tennis immortality, it's an acquisition I volition ne'er forget. It made maine truthful overmuch hungrier for success, I learned a lot."

Britain's Cameron Norrie returns to Serbia's Novak Djokovic successful the men's singles semifinal astatine Wimbledon. Photo: Alastair Grant (AP)

The different circular 1 matches successful Saudi Arabia diagnostic Hurkacz vs Stricker, Wawrinka vs Berrettini and Thiem vs Zverev.

Tsitsipas, Medvedev, Rublev and Fritz person circular 1 byes arsenic the highest ranked players.

German weapon Zverev is making his instrumentality aft a 7 period wounded layoff, having snapped 3 ligaments successful his ankle astatine Roland-Garros and past suffering a bony edema successful his close foot.

Alexander Zverev of Germany during a lucifer against Daniil Medvedev of Russia. (Getty)

"I'm looking guardant to conscionable being retired determination and beryllium surrounded by the champion players successful the world, I've missed that implicit the past 7 months truthful let's spot however it goes," Zverev said.

"It volition beryllium a precocious level tourney and I deliberation everybody's successful signifier due to the fact that they're inactive either coming from Davis Cup oregon they conscionable came from the ATP Finals and playing large tennis."

The tourney victor will pouch $1.5 cardinal with the runner-up claiming $750,000 and the semi-finalists $375,000.

The enactment gets underway from 7pm AEDT connected Stan Sport.

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Wimbledon 2022: 'Drunk' instrumentality astatine centre of Nick Kyrgios meltdown speaks out