11 January 2023 , 16:57
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Andy Murray has pledged his belief in Nick Kyrgios, claiming the 27-year-old is 'knocking on the door' ahead of the Australian Open. Kyrgios enjoyed plenty of success in 2022, picking up his first tournament victory in three years when winning the Washington Open.
The Aussie also secured the Australian Open doubles title alongside fellow Thanasi Kokkinakis, whilst also picking up his best finish in a singles Grand Slam after reaching the final at Wimbledon before losing to Novak Djokovic. One man who is used to success at SW19 is Murray.
The former British and World No. 1 has won two of three his three Grand Slam titles on the Wimbledon grass, triumphing in 2013 and three years later in 2016.
Murray has since revealed that one key component to his success is the amount of support and backing he received from his home crowd. As a result, the 35-year-old has encouraged Kyrgios to use the Australian Open crowd to his advantage when it kicks off next week.
He said: "I always found it helped at Wimbledon - the stuff away from the court is difficult and something you have to manage but when you actually get on the court, the pressure and the support and everything, it makes a difference.
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Andy Murray has won three Grand Slam titles (Getty Images)"Home support is a positive thing in football or soccer, and I'm assuming in Aussie Rules it is like that as well - the home team tends to perform better, and it is the same with tennis." Backing Kyrgios for success, the Scot added: "Last year he won the doubles here and then had a great run at Wimbledon as well.
"He was really close and he wasn't that far away at the US Open either. He's been knocking on the door the past couple of slams and hopefully he has a good preparation and everything to give himself the best chance."
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Nick Krygios reached the final at Wimbledon last year (CameraSport via Getty Images)Despite calling on Kyrgios to thrive off the home support, Murray admitted winning a home slam is a tough task, especially on the men's side of the draw. "It is not easy, there have not been loads of players over the years who have managed to win home slams.
"We did it in the UK, the US have done great with Serena and Venus [Williams] but on the men's side it has been a little while. It's not that easy, there is obviously pressure and expectation."