Nick Kyrgios has predicted it will be business as usual in the 2023 men's grand slams with veteran stars Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal continuing to dominate.
The enigmatic Australian – who had boasted he was "the best player in the world" – was knocked out of the Diriyah Tennis Cup singles draw by Cameron Norrie – 10-6, 10-6 in two super tiebreak sets in Saudi Arabia.
Kyrgios – who lost to Djokovic in this year's Wimbledon final – was then asked by reporters in Riyadh whether he thought there would be a new men's grand slam singles champion next year.
Watch Nick Kyrgios, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev at the Diriyah Tennis Cup from December 8-11. Streaming ad-free and live on Stan Sport
"I'm gonna say no," the 27-year-old said.
"Rafa will win the French Open, Djokovic will probably win Wimbledon – unless I stop him, so I don't know.
"Djokovic is so dominant that unless someone really elevates their level at the Australian Open or US Open, I can't see him losing. (Daniil) Medvedev could maybe beat him.
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https://twitter.com/StanSportAU/status/1600978314260258817?s=20&t=Vt4b5VD5utlIzoRuLFsVJA
"Look I'd love to win one – but, realistically, he's so dominant."
His loss to Norrie – who also beat Stefanos Tsitsipas on day one – means Kyrgios will now focus on doubles for the remainder of the tournament.
"Obviously, it wasn't the result I wanted but all credit to Cam, he just played solid and I made a few too many errors – and in the tiebreak format, it's always hard," Kyrgios said.
"I'm not too mad about it. I feel like I've given the fans a little bit of Nick Kyrgios, which is OK, but hopefully the doubles will go a bit better."
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