Rafter: "You can never overlook a player as talented as Kyrgios".
Nick Kyrgios makes his comeback after an absence of over a year. The Australian will play again at the ATP 250 in Brisbane and then at the Australian Open.
He is particularly eagerly awaited, not least because in recent weeks he has made a name for himself with his controversial statements on the tennis scene, notably concerning Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek.
Pat Rafter had this to say about his compatriot: "You can never overlook a player as talented as Kyrgios.
However, I don't know what he's been doing all this time. He's been out of tennis for a year and a half, so it's going to be interesting.
I have no expectations or ideas of how things will go for him, but he has an impressive game.
Can he hold it? Can his body hold up physically? Can his mind hold up, too? Those are his main challenges, especially his body.
Playing at a competitive level is totally different from training, so I don't really know what to expect from him; I think it's all up in the air.
When I say I have no expectations, I mean I wouldn't be surprised at all if he reached the quarter-finals or semi-finals, but I wouldn't be surprised either if he lost in the first round."
The Rafa Nadal Academy: a model of expertise and professionalism for tennis’s future stars 
Davis Cup: between reforms, criticism and national culture 
When tennis stars change courts: from Noah the singer to Safin the deputy, another match – the battle of reinvention 
