Nick Kyrgios is last up for Hisense Arena at the 2017 Australian Open. The 14th seed at this year's tournament faces a draw that shares a path to the quarterfinals with Stan Wawrinka. In the opening round, Kyrgios will face Gastao Elias in what is a favorable match-up for Australia's top-ranked player.

Gastao Elias making main-draw debut

Elias is 26 years old and he has no significant Grand Slam experience to draw upon. In five appearances in majors, Elias is 0-5 in first-round matches. Furthermore, he has never played in the Australian Open main draw, meaning that he may not be accustomed to the conditions.

A match in one of the showcourts against Australia's top player is certainly a tough ask for Elias in his Australian Open debut.

Kyrgios did not play in any of the ranking-point events that have led up to the 2017 Australian Open. However, he was active in the Hopman Cup, an exhibition event that's played in Perth in the first week of the season. The tournament is taken somewhat seriously and Kyrgios did play well in the event. Furthermore, he played well in the International Premier Tennis League in December.

Kyrgios speaks about his knee

The question with him heading into Melbourne Park is the condition of his knee. It was a topic he addressed at a recent press conference at Melbourne Park.

"It's feeling really good," Kyrgios said of his knee.

"I've done four or five treatments on it. Got one more tomorrow. Yeah, it's feeling a lot better since I last competed, which was in Perth. So I've had massive improvements in my knee." In regard to exactly what the "treatments" were Kyrgios said "Just putting, like, patches on my knee. It's another way to insert some cortisone in my knee" (January 14th interview).

Kyrgios first became a significant player on tour in 2014, however Grand Slam success has been somewhat intermittent. He has never lost in the first round in his prior three appearances at the Australian Open. His best result came two years ago when he made the quarterfinals. Since that result he has not been back to the quarters of any Grand Slam.

Kyrgios claimed that his draw is "very good" this year at Melbourne Park. Surely most will be looking forward to the fourth round, where the Aussie may play Wawrinka, a potential match-up that would produce a quarterfinalist this season.