“Playing Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal and 95% of fans are going for them, I really love that; media painted me to be this horrific person, but now it just washed away, true colors came through” - Nick Kyrgios

Nick Kyrgios has held the media responsible for the love-hate relationship he has had with fans over the years, though he acknowledged that the tide may be turning.

The Australian has been in fine form on the court this season. He has a 21-3 win-loss record since June and has won 15 of his last 16 matches, with the only blip being the Wimbledon final defeat to Novak Djokovic.

On Thursday, he eased past Alex de Minaur 6-2, 6-3 to enter the quarterfinals of the 2022 Canadian Open. Speaking in his post-match press conference, Kyrgios stated that he is hopefully inspiring people to be comfortable in their skin, much like he is.

“Look, I'm playing for a lot more than myself. Hopefully I'm inspiring millions of people to just go about their life or their sport or their career as they want to and be comfortable in their own skin. That's a strong message,” he said.

The 27-year-old also touched upon how he has been unfairly treated by the media over the years.

“I don't care if people don't like me and the style of tennis I play. I understand that. It's more like [at] the beginning of my career, [the media] almost painting an image that completely wasn't me based on what I was doing on the court, which was so hard to disconnect from in real life. None of you understand what that's like, when people just paint an image of how you are as a general human 95% of the time, but you're only seeing me on the tennis court for 2% of my life,” he said.

“It's been a bit easier for me to navigate through that now. I just stopped really caring, to be honest. I love the fact that I'm playing Roger [Federer] or Rafa [Nadal] and 95% of the fans are going for them. I love that. I actually really love that. You guys kind of painted me to be this, like, horrific person for like five years. But now I feel like it just kind of washed away. The true colors came through,” he added.

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“If he continues like this, he's going to be top-15, top-10 player” - Daniil Medvedev on Nick Kyrgios

Daniil Medvedev and Nick Kyrgios at the 2022 Australian Open

Nick Kyrgios upset top seed and World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev in the second round at the 2022 Canadian Open on Wednesday. He showed resilience to bounce back after losing the opening set, during which he failed to convert two set points.

An early break on Medvedev's serve in the second set proved key as the Aussie dominated on serve to level the contest, which he went on to win.

Speaking at a press conference following the loss, Medvedev praised Kyrgios for his performance.

“If he continues like this, he's going to be a top-15, top-10 player. He's going to be seeded. You're going to get him maybe one round later,” said Medvedev.

Kyrgios has now moved up to World No. 27 in the ATP Live Rankings, a rank that’ll ensure he’s seeded at the US Open later this month. Following his defeat of Alex de Minaur, Nick Kyrgios will next face eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz for a place in the Canadian Open semifinals.