A confident Nick Kyrgios announced himself fully fit and better equipped than ever to make a good run at his home Grand Slam event.
The controversial Australian, who received an eight-week ban for not trying in late 2016 -- reduced to three weeks after he agreed to see a psychologist -- said he had recovered from the knee injury which affected him in the Hopman Cup in Perth.
"The knee is feeling really good," he said at a press conference at Melbourne Park on Saturday. "I've done four or five treatments on it, [have] got one more tomorrow. It's feeling a lot better since I last competed, which was in Perth. So I've had massive improvements in my knee."
A quarterfinalist at the Australian Open in 2015, the 21-year-old said he is now more sure of himself and his ability to perform on a consistent basis.
"I feel like last year [when he reached the third round], I was an established top-100 player, [but] I hadn't beaten top guys on a consistent basis," Kyrgios said. "I feel like now I know what I can do on the court. Last year I was pretty consistent throughout the year. Won three titles, got to No. 13. I feel more comfortable on the court. I know what my game is, I know how to play it. I know I can beat anyone on the day."
Kyrgios faces the world No. 81 Gastao Elias of Portugal, a man who has never won a Grand Slam match, when the first round gets underway on Monday.
"I think [my chances are] very good," Kyrgios said. "Obviously you get rewarded with a good draw the higher your seeding is. I played well last year, got my ranking to top 30 in the world. I've been awarded with a pretty good draw.
"Saying that, Elias can play some pretty high-level tennis. Everyone in the draw can beat anyone on the day. I got to go out there and not expect to win the match. I got to go out there and just play and we'll see how it goes."
And Kyrgios said he was not worried that he may be a little undercooked going into the Australian Open.
"I'm never been a player to play many tournaments before a Grand Slam," he said. "I like to come in pretty fresh. So my expectations are high. I still feel like I can do some major damage and get to the second week and really cause some upsets."