"We are the outliers, we know we're the better players at the end of the day" - Nick Kyrgios remains upbeat despite losing ATP Finals doubles opener

Nick Kyrgios, who failed to qualify for the singles event at the 2022 ATP Finals, began his doubles campaign alongside compatriot Thanasi Kokkinakis on Monday.

The Australian duo lost their way after taking the opening set against the British-Dutch pair of Neal Skupski and Wesley Koolhoff, going down 6-7 (3), 6-4, 10-5.

The Wimbledon finalist, who was in Mexico to play an exhibition game before arriving in Turin for the ATP Finals, stated in his post-match press conference that he and Kokkinakis had every chance of winning.

Nick Kyrgios revealed that he "felt alright" while asserting that he and his doubles partner did not need elaborate preparations ahead of the tournament. He described himself and his partner as "outliers of every other doubles player," who prioritized singles and added that they were the "better tennis players at the end of the day."

"I think we had every opportunity to win this match today. Me and Thanasi are probably the outliers of every other doubles players here. We like to prioritize singles and we know we're the better tennis players at the end of the day. We don't need to have weeks of, preparation honestly, for doubles. Honestly, my preparation wasn't ideal. But I still felt all right today. We could have won today," Nick Kyrgios said.

The Australian, who lost to Novak Djokovic in the 2022 Wimbledon finals, disclosed that he would be heading home if he didn't progress beyond the group stages.

"If we progress through the group, I'll stay, because that's what happens when you win the group, you go forward and stay a day. If we don't progress, I'll probably go home, yeah," the fiery Australian revealed.

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"Me and Thanasi Kokkinakis never thought we were going to be here at the end-of-the-year finals" - Nick Kyrgios

Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis in action at the 2022 ATP Finals.

Nick Kyrgios stated that the 2022 Australian Open doubles champions did not expect to feature in the year-end ATP Finals.

The 27-year-old highlighted the fact that the grind Australian players need to go through is unappreciated as they need to be in Europe, North America, or Asia for most of the year. Kyrgios also lamented the fact that most people do not realize the toll that late nights and physio sessions take on players.

"Me and Thanasi never thought we were going to be here at the end-of-the-year finals. We always thought we could do some good things together, but to put a year consistently like this, we played maybe six or seven events or something, so. Yeah, the experience has been cool. I still feel like the grind of tennis for Australians is widely underappreciated. Like, we've been on the road pretty much all year. The amount of time away from home, trying to play singles and doubles at events, all the physio, late nights, this type of stuff, massively underappreciated," Nick Kyrgios explained.