Nick Kyrgios tipped to become major winner ahead of Australian Open grudge match with Rafael Nadal

Has Nick Kyrgios finally decided that it’s cool to care? After years of claiming that tennis is boring, tennis’s most mercurial maverick has begun to take a closer interest. The results were palpable on Saturday night, when he outlasted the dangerous Russian Karen Khachanov in what was comfortably the longest match of his career.

Will this prove to be a turning point in the Kyrgios story, or just another false dawn? We will have a better idea on Monday, after he has faced Rafael Nadal in the latest instalment of their long-running feud.

Had Kyrgios not been dragged into a 4hr 26min Iron-Man contest against Khachanov, he would have started Monday's match at almost even money with the bookmakers. He has a strong record against Nadal, particularly on hard courts, where he has won two of their three meetings. But their contrasting experiences on Saturday have surely unbalanced the scales. Nadal was frighteningly fuss-free as he disposed of his fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta in just 1hr 38min.

Can Kyrgios really overcome such a physical disadvantage against the world No 1? Unlikely. But the way he approaches the match will be revealing. According to the former Australian Open champion Mats Wilander, it is important that he fights throughout, rather than spinning off at an angry tangent for the umpteenth time.

“I think it helps his game to be more respectful,” said Wilander, who is commentating on Eurosport’s Australian Open coverage. “If he becomes more of a predictable role model on the court, a few more wins will come his way because he’s now respected by his peers. They won’t mind losing to him because he’s now doing his best all the time.

“But as long as he’s not always doing his best, there are guys in the locker-room who are saying, ‘There’s no f---ing way I’m losing to this guy ever, because if it doesn’t mean more to him than this, it means a lot to me’. That means those guys don't even want to practise with you. They look at you and say ‘Oh my God, this guy.’

“For Nick, being p----d off is okay. Throwing chairs around in Rome is okay. You are the bad boy, who cares? It is just not trying [which presents a problem]. That is where the line is drawn.”

Wilander did not mean these remarks in a censorious way. He is a free spirit himself, a near-contemporary of John McEnroe’s who grew up in an era of what the Aussies call “stoushes”. (The word, which derives from Scotland, refers to a scrap or showdown.)

Wilander’s wider position here is one of admiration. With the right guidance, he believes that Kyrgios could emulate Stan Wawrinka by cracking the big time late in his career.

“Wawrinka is what I am really thinking when I see Kyrgios,” said Wilander. “As a physical, genetic specimen, he is a monster. When he is on the court and he runs, he flies. And he has got a massive arm. So you have to put him in the gym. I believe with Wawrinka it was the same thing – he was always like he is [as a talent] but he was never fit enough [until he started working with Magnus Norman in 2013].

“I think Nick will win a major,” Wilander added. “And if he wins one, he will win two. And then he wins five, because he is that good.”

We can only wonder which curveball Kyrgios will throw at Nadal. The last time these two met in a major, he tried a tactic that Wilander might remember from his 1980s meetings with Ivan Lendl: the tube. In tennis jargon, this means a shot aimed hard at the body of your opponent, with the intention of striking him.

“When he hit the ball like this, is dangerous,” harrumphed a riled Nadal afterwards. “Is not dangerous for me, is dangerous for a line referee, dangerous for a crowd. That ball hits an eye or something like this, is a problem. I want to play a match of tennis. Sometimes is difficult.”

If we go back five months further, to their previous meeting in Acapulco in February, Kyrgios had tried an underarm serve. That one earned a more direct broadside from Nadal, who told reporters “he lacks respect for the public, the rival and towards himself.”

But Nadal was more diplomatic on Saturday when asked about their relationship. “I don't know him personally, honestly, to have a clear opinion,” Nadal replied. “When he does stuff that in my opinion is not good, I don't like. When he plays good tennis and he shows passion for this game, he is a positive player for our tour, and I want my tour bigger, not smaller.”