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Nick Kyrgios is backing his big-stage spirit to lift him out of the doldrums and back into French Open title contention.
A haphazard build-up, brutal draw and niggling injuries have cast Kyrgios as a Roland Garros underdog after the 22-year-old had been rated a serious challenger following his blazing run on hard courts.
Once the bookmakers' tip as the chief threat to the big five's dominance after twice conquering defending Open champion Novak Djokovic and then stretching Roger Federer to the limit in the match of the year in Miami, Kyrgios's stocks have since plummeted.
- Samantha Stosur (23) v Kristina Kukova (SVK)
- Daria Gavrilova (24) v Elise Mertens (BEL)
- Jaimee Fourlis v Caroline Wozniacki (DEN, 11)
- Ashleigh Barty v Madison Keys (USA, 12)
- Ajla Tomljanovic v Kiki Bertens (NED, 18)
Men's singles
- Nick Kyrgios (18) v Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER)
- Bernard Tomic v Dominic Thiem (AUT, 6)
- Thanasi Kokkinnakis v Kei Nishikori (JPN, 8)
- John Millman v Roberto Bautista-Agut (ESP, 17)
- Jordan Thompson v John Isner (USA, 21)
- Alex Di Minaur v Robin Haase (NED)
To become Australia's first French Open champion since Rod Laver in 1969, he will need to win more matches in a fortnight than he has played all year on clay.
But the two-time grand slam quarter-finalist is happy for fellow next-gen stars Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem to enjoy the spotlight as most likely dangers to Djokovic, title favourite Rafael Nadal, former champion Stan Wawrinka and world number one Andy Murray.
"It's good to see these young guys doing well but I'm just worrying about trying to get my body right to play," Kyrgios said ahead of his tournament opener against tough German Philipp Kohlschreiber.
"I'm always going to be confident."
After climbing to a career-high 13th in the world, Kyrgios has dropped to number 19 and is seeded 18th in Paris.
He has copped a gruelling draw and could meet big French hope Jo-Wilfried-Tsonga, the 12th-seeded former semi-finalist in round three — if his body gets that far — and admits his twin triumphs over Djokovic in March were "a long time ago".
Since then, he has sat out half the claycourt swing while mourning the death of his grandfather before withdrawing from the Rome Masters with a hip injury and then losing his opening match in Lyon.
"I haven't had the best luck in the last couple of weeks," Kyrgios said.
"Obviously my body has been letting me down a little bit so I'm just trying to get that right before I go out there and play."
Under the watchful eye of Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt and new part-time coach Sebastien Grosjean, Kyrgios had his first practice session at Roland Garros on Friday with doubles partner Matt Reid.
But shoulder and hip complaints prevented the Canberran from hitting top gear.
"They're okay. They're not great, but they're not terrible to keep me out so we'll see how it goes," he said.
"It's OK. [I'm] actually working through a couple of niggling injuries, but I'm doing everything I can to get ready for my first round."
While Kyrgios will not open his campaign until Monday or Tuesday, Bernard Tomic and teenage wildcard Alex Di Minaur are the only two of Australia's 11 singles hopefuls in action on day one.
Tomic has a daunting confrontation with sixth seed Thiem, the only player in 18 matches to defeat Nadal on clay this season, while Di Minaur plays Dutchman Robin Haase — for a likely second-round shot at Nadal.
AAP