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Kyrgios feeling confident ahead of home slam

Sydney - Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios is feeling fresh and believes that he has the ability to win next month's Australian Open.

The 21-year-old was handed an eight-week suspension after his well-publicised meltdown in Shanghai in October but is trying to use that time off as a positive ahead of his home grand slam.

Kyrgios, who won three ATP events in what was otherwise a strong 2016 for the Aussie, told Fairfax Media: "Never say never. Someone has to win it and I am more than capable.

"Will I? I don't know. But will I slog my guts out trying to? Without a doubt.

"Twenty-sixteen was definitely a success ... for anyone in only their second full year on tour to win three ATP titles is pretty big.

"To halve your ranking and finish so high is a nice cherry on the top. It's definitely been a successful year for me."

Kyrgios, who has revealed that he is seeing a sports psychologist in a bid to help him with the mental aspect of the game, added: "I needed to shut down really after a very long and tough year.

"I'm still learning about myself and how to manage things like schedule ... and really that is my biggest learning going forward, just managing my schedule and time better to help with physical and mental freshness."

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