It has been an emotional build-up to the Australian Open for Nick Kyrgios this year, with the Canberra native lending his support to bushfire relief off the court and helping his nation to reach the semi-finals of the inaugural ATP Cup in front of home fans.

But while those efforts have left the 24-year-old searching for a balance in recent weeks, Kyrgios believes that playing for a greater purpose has elevated his game.

“It is not easy to just completely switch your concentration [to] the Australian Open… When you put it in perspective of what is actually going on… I have to find the balance. I have to go out there and try to get the best out of my game,” said Kyrgios.

“But I think when I’m playing, at the moment, I’m playing for a lot more than myself. I feel like I’m getting the best out of myself with that.”

The World No. 26 will continue to donate AUD $200 to aid bushfire relief for every ace he serves during this year’s opening major championship and his charitable efforts have also inspired a number of fellow players to make similar donations.

Kyrgios was also present at Rally For Relief on Wednesday, a fundraising event at Rod Laver Arena which helped raise almost AUD $5 million for the Victorian Bushfire Appeal. The six-time ATP Tour titlist’s efforts have not gone unnoticed by fans at Melbourne Park, with Kyrgios feeling he has received ‘maybe a little’ more support than usual as he makes his final preparations for the tournament.

“Every time I play here, I’m well-supported,” said Kyrgios. “All my practices are pretty full. I think people are excited to see me.

“I guess with everything going on, the other stuff outside tennis, maybe that’s more what they support rather than my tennis itself. Everything I’m doing is just because I care.”

View Singles Draw

The ATP Cup provided Australian players with the unique experience of playing for their country on home soil ahead of the Australian Open. Kyrgios won three of his four matches at the innovative team event, his only tournament appearance ahead of the Australian Open.

“I really enjoyed [the ATP Cup]. I think a lot of players did. For the first time they’ve had it, I think it was a success,” said Kyrgios. “I really thought it was awesome. I think a lot of my teammates loved it, as well.

“Just any time you get the chance to play in front of your home crowd, feel the energy like that, it’s pretty special.”

After the intensity of the ATP Cup, Kyrgios has enjoyed spending time on the practice court with fellow Aussie Jordan Thompson. The 2015 quarter-finalist will be aiming to improve his 11-6 record at Melbourne Park this year.

“[I have been] feeling good [in the] past couple days. I’ve hit with my good friend, Thompson. Having a good time,” said Kyrgios.

Kyrgios will open his campaign against Lorenzo Sonego of Italy. The top-ranked Australian in this year’s draw beat Sonego in their only previous ATP Head2Head meeting at last year’s Western & Southern Open in straight sets.

“Sonego is a tough competitor,” said Kyrgios. “I played him in Cincinnati last year. It was a tough match. Very capable player. Big serve. Loves to hit his forehand.”

With the feeling of playing for a bigger cause and the support of a nation as the top-ranked Australian in the draw, could Kyrgios be ready for another deep run at this year’s event?

Andrey Rublev became the first man in 16 years to win back-to-back titles in the opening two weeks of the season on Saturday, beating Lloyd Harris 6-3, 6-0 to capture the inaugural Adelaide International title.

The World No. 18 saved all four break points he faced to clinch the trophy in 56 minutes. Rublev is now unbeaten in 12 matches, which includes an 8-0 start to the 2020 ATP Tour season. Last week, the Russian won the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha without dropping a set.

The last man to capture two trophies in as many weeks to open the season was Dominik Hrbaty in 2004. The Slovakian lifted titles in Adelaide and Auckland ahead of the Australian Open.

“I was not thinking about [this statistic], but it’s an amazing feeling… I’m really happy. I hope I keep working. I hope I keep improving, and we’ll see what’s going to happen,” said Rublev.

Rublev claimed the first break of the match in the sixth game, focusing his attack on Harris’ forehand to extract multiple errors. From 0/40 down in the following game, Rublev once again targeted his opponent’s forehand to hold serve for 5-2 and served out the set two games later.

Consistency proved crucial in the opening game of the second set, as Rublev took advantage of Harris’ errors to break serve for a second time. The 22-year-old rode the momentum, earning two further service breaks before closing out the match with attacking play.

“The first set was really tough because he had a couple of break points. [It] was a really nervous and tough first set. And then, I don’t know, I started to play even better,” said Rublev. “I think he got maybe a little bit disappointed because he had chances in the first set and he didn’t make it. He was, I think, a little bit down and I started to play even better.”

On his first match point, Rublev moved to the net behind a powerful forehand and forced his opponent into a backhand error with a short volley. The Russian turned to his team in celebration and smiled, having doubled his ATP Tour trophy collection since the start of the year.

“This is what we are working for, to be more consistent, to be more mentally strong,” said Rublev. “This is what we’re working for. And I’m happy that these two weeks went this way… I got two titles. It’s amazing. I never had this before.”

Harris was aiming to capture his first ATP Tour trophy in his maiden tour-level championship match. The South African, who represented his country at the inaugural ATP Cup, defeated sixth seed Cristian Garin and fourth seed Pablo Carreno Busta en route to the championship match.

Rublev receives 250 FedEx ATP Rankings points and collects $91,625 in prize money. Harris earns 150 points and receives $50,710.

Ten remaining qualifying spots were up for grabs on Saturday at the Australian Open and Dennis Novak wasted no time securing his place in the main draw. The top-seeded Austrian battled past Japanese Hiroki Moriya 7-6(5), 6-2 for his second main draw appearance in Melbourne.

Mohamed Safwat became the first Egyptian player in 24 years to qualify for a Grand Slam by defeating sixth-seeded Russian Evgeny Donskoy 7-5, 6-4. Four players also enjoyed the milestone moment of reaching their first Grand Slam main draw: Colombian Daniel Elahi Galan, Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor, Chilean Alejandro Tabilo and Spaniard Mario Vilella Martinez.

Three players received lucky loser spots into the main draw due to withdrawals: Slovakian Jozef Kovalik, Donskoy and Indian Prajnesh Gunneswaran. Kovalik and Gunneswaran lost their final-round qualifying matches on Friday.

The 16 qualifiers and three lucky losers were all placed into the main draw on Saturday.

Qualifier & Lucky Loser Placements
(Q) Mario Vilella Martinez (ESP) v. (16) Karen Khachanov (RUS)
(Q) Ernests Gulbis (LAT) v. (20) Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN)
(Q) Tallon Griekspoor (NED) v. (29) Taylor Fritz (USA)
(Q) Christopher Eubanks (USA) v. (Q) Peter Gojowczyk (GER)
(Q) Alejandro Tabilo (CHI) v. (Q)Daniel Elahi Galan (COL)
(Q) Ilya Ivashka (BLR) v. Kevin Anderson (RSA)
(Q) Pedro Martinez (ESP) v. Dominik Koepfer (GER)
(Q) Elliot Benchetrit (FRA) v. Yuichi Sugita (JPN)
(Q) Marco Trungelliti (ARG) v. Tennys Sandgren (USA)
(Q) Mohamed Safwat (EGY) v. Gregoire Barrere (FRA)
(Q) Max Purcell (AUS) v. Jannik Sinner (ITA)
(Q) Dennis Novak (AUT) v. Hubert Hurkacz (POL)
(Q) Quentin Halys (FRA) v. Filip Krajinovic (SRB)
(Q) Norbert Gombos (SVK) v. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (ESP)
(LL) Jozef Kovalik (SVK) v. (27) Pablo Carreno Busta (ESP)
(LL) Evgeny Donskoy (RUS) v. Fernando Verdasco (ESP)
(LL) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND) v. Tatsuma Ito (JPN)

Rafael Nadal has won 19 Grand Slam titles, been ranked No. 1 in the FedEx ATP Rankings in three decades and, at the age of 33, is again the top seed at this month’s Australian Open, which starts Monday in Melbourne.

So what’s his secret? Unfortunately, Nadal confirmed on Saturday, he doesn’t have one.

“No secret at all,” he told reporters. “There is only about passion, about love for the game, and being able to stay positive in the tough moments.”

View Singles Draw

Nadal has had more than his share of injuries and, along with his trophy-hoisting moments, he’s had plenty of losses as well.

“It’s true that I went through some tough situations during all my career. But I was able to always, with probably the positive attitude and with the right people around, they were key, I was able to find a way to keep going,” he said.

“For my style of game, as a lot of people said, my career should be little bit shorter. But here we are. Happy for that. Even for me, it is a big surprise to be where I am at my age.

“Happy for everything. Just enjoying the situation.”

The Spaniard, who opens against Bolivian Hugo Dellien, will go for his second Australian Open title (2009) this fortnight. Nadal made the final in 2019 (also ’12, ’14, ’17) before falling to Novak Djokovic, the first and only time Nadal did not win a set in 27 major championship finals.

The two met again during the ATP Cup final last weekend in Sydney, and their 55^th ATP Head2Head meeting was a straight-sets win for Djokovic. Nadal, however, will be ready for a rematch should it come in the final on 2 February.

“I am practising I think more or less okay. Just remain for me two more days of practice. Let’s try to keep going with the right intensity and with the right feelings. Hopefully I will be ready for Tuesday,” Nadal said.