Nick Kyrgios is convinced he can make Wimbledon stars "look pretty ordinary" and insists he will embrace being a crowd "villain" when he starts against British wildcard Paul Jubb.
The Australian world number 45 has looked sharp on grass already this month, reaching semi-finals in Stuttgart and Halle, where his runs were ended by Andy Murray and Hubert Hurkacz respectively.
Kyrgios, who could play Queen's Club Championship runner-up Filip Krajinovic in round two at Wimbledon, expects to have only a small portion of support when he begins against 22-year-old Jubb.
That match is set for Tuesday, and Kyrgios believes he is playing well enough to win through comfortably, ahead of the more obvious tests of his game that lie ahead.
Renowned as an immensely talented firebrand, the 27-year-old would rather be remembered as a grand slam champion, but there are some major obstacles blocking his path to that objective.
"I've played top-10 players in the world this year and made them look pretty ordinary," he said.
That claim is not without merit, given Kyrgios beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in Halle, Andrey Rublev in Miami, and Casper Ruud in Indian Wells.
He is picking and choosing when he competes to allow himself plenty of time to spend with friends and family, and is determined to find a successful work-life balance.
"I know where my game's at," Kyrgios added. "I know if I'm confident and playing well, I'm able to light it up whenever I want. I've got to pick and choose, so when I play, I've got to make sure I'm having some good results and putting in my best effort.
"If I figured that out earlier in my career, maybe the narrative may have been different, but I'm proud to be where I am at the moment.
"I know if I'm serving well and playing well, I can beat anyone. I've beaten pretty much everyone in the draw before."
Kyrgios lost to Russian Daniil Medvedev in the second round of the Australian Open in January and is disappointed the world number one has been banned, along with all Russian and Belarusian players, from Wimbledon.
That position has been taken because of the Russian-led invasion of Ukraine, but Kyrgios said: "My honest opinion is I don't think it was a good idea to ban the Russian players.
"Medvedev is the best we have in our sport right now. I think whenever we have cameras on and a lot of people tuning in, you want a lot of our players to be on showcase for the sport to grow.
"I'm disappointed that they're not here. It's weird not seeing Medvedev here, because we all know what he's capable of."
Medvedev will be far away from SW19 when Kyrgios begins his campaign against Judd.
The 'bad boy' image has stuck to Kyrgios, and he has often not helped his cause, with a string of incidents of volatile behaviour in his past. He accepts the crowd will be siding with the underdog on Tuesday.
"I'm used to wearing that black hat, the villain-type role, and I've just got to embrace it," he continued.
"I'm going to go out there and just play my game. If you look at the results of the last couple of weeks, if I just stick to my guns, the results say I should win pretty easy.
"But I know that's not going to be the case, so I've got to be focused."
Alcaraz begins Madrid Open campaign with emphatic win
Carlos Alcaraz continued his fine record at the Madrid Open with an emphatic 6-2 6-1 victory over Alexander Shevchenko on Friday.
The two-time defending champion made it 12 straight wins at his home tournament to ensure he will face Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild in the last 32.
Alcaraz was playing his first match on the ATP Tour since March 28 after being unable to compete in the Monte-Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open due to an arm injury.
But he was still able to make a fine start to his clay-court season, breaking serve in the first game and racing to victory in only one hour and eight minutes.
Data Debrief
Sometimes the scoreline can be harsh on a beaten player, but on this occasion Alcaraz was clearly dominant, breaking the Kazakh seven times in the match and forcing 11 break-point opportunities while conceding only three for his opponent.
That allowed the Spaniard to claim a dominant victory despite being broken once in each set. He will now turn his attention to a clash with Seyboth Wild, who battled past Lorenzo Musetti with a 6-4 6-4 win.
Reigning champion Sabalenka pushed by Linette at Madrid Open
Aryna Sabalenka got her Madrid Open campaign started with a 6-4 3-6 6-3 win over Magda Linette on Friday.
Sabalenka could not quite hit her peak form against Linette, but the world number two nevertheless got the job done after going the distance.
The Belarusian is hunting a record-equalling third title in Madrid, where she is the reigning champion, though she has not won back-to-back matches at a tournament since winning the Australian Open.
"It's not about being confident," Sabalenka said. "It's about how much you're ready to do to get it. It's about the hard work and to be ready, be ready for the big fights. I feel like confidence is not going to help you in those big matches. It's about staying there and fighting for it."
Data Debrief
Sabalenka (70 per cent, 56-24) is now one of five active players since 2020 to hold a winning percentage of 70 per cent or higher at WTA-1000 events.
Iga Swiatek, Simona Halep, Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula are the other players to feature on that list.
Rybakina continues clay winning streak with victory over Bronzetti
In-form Elena Rybakina has moved into the last 32 of the Madrid Open after a straight sets victory over Italian Lucia Bronzetti.
Number four seed Rybakina triumphed 6-4 6-3 on Friday and will next face either Marta Kostyuk or Mayar Sherif.
Rybakina was broken early in each set but ultimately had few problems getting over the line, converting four of her five break points to continue an impressive run of results after winning the Stuttgart Open last week.
She has now won five consecutive WTA matches and has 13 straight wins on clay courts to her name in a superb streak that started one year ago.
Data Debrief: Rybakina in elite company
Since the start of 2020, only two other players have claimed as many 13 consecutive WTA wins on clay, and they are Iga Swiatek and Simona Halep, so Rybakina is in elite company.
Rybakina's last defeat on this surface came in the 2023 edition of the Madrid Open, when she fell to Anna Kalinskaya in her first match, so this win represented a better start to her campaign in the Spanish capital.
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