Nick Kyrgios is a late addition to next week's Kooyong Classic as he chases desperately needed match practice ahead of the Australian Open.
A second-round casualty in Brisbane this week, Kyrgios joins countryman Bernard Tomic and grand slam finalists Marin Cilic and Kevin Anderson in the three-day exhibition event starting in Melbourne on Tuesday.
"Nick was looking for some more match time to round out his AO preparation, so we were more than happy to oblige," said tournament director Peter Johnston.
The 2019 Kooyong Classic will be broadcast LIVE, FREE and in HD on SBS and streamed live online via SBS On Demand / SBS Sport websites from 11am to 4pm, January 8-10.
Kyrgios will square off with Rafael Nadal in a Fast4 exhibition in Sydney on Monday night but has added Kooyong to his schedule amid concerns he would lob for the season's first grand slam underdone as well as unseeded for the first time in four years.
He preferred to spend his off-season playing basketball before a Christmas-time spider bite further restricted his court time ahead of a second-round collapse in Brisbane against Jeremy Chardy.
Tennis legend Ken Rosewall believes Australian fans are better off pinning their home hopes on seeded teenage ace Alex de Minaur.
"Alex, he's got a different approach to the game (than Nick)," the eight-time grand slam champion said.
"He's very competitive, he likes to play well every time he plays. The moment he steps on to the court, he's 100 per cent, whereas Nick seems to have got into the habit where he takes things a little bit easier.
"He said himself he hasn't been practising and I think that will show later (in the tournament) if he gets involved in any long matches.
"If he plays in Melbourne and you get (hot) weather like this, best of five sets, even though you might get a day's rest in between matches, I think it's going to affect him.
"He's not going to be playing strongly enough towards the end of the match.
"So, from an Australian point of view, you're looking at Alex to do better than anybody else."
