Melbourne VIC, Australia, 12 December 2016 | tennis.com.au

Nick Kyrgios says he has been seeing a sports psychologist during his time off from the tour since October.

The world No.13, who was suspended by the ATP following the Shanghai Masters because of “conduct contrary to the integrity of the game”, said the time away from the court had been valuable.

“The ATP wanted me to see a psychologist to help me out and I’ve been doing that,” said Kyrgios in an interview with Fox Sports News.

“It’s actually been good. I’m just relaxing a little bit, spending more time with my family and my girlfriend (fellow Australian player Ajla Tomljanovic) as well.

“So the suspension, one way to look at it, is getting more time off with the people you love and I’ve been training as well, so it’s set me up in good stead for 2017.

“Obviously I wouldn’t have wanted to get suspended but it gave me time to think about and analyse what I’ve got to get better at — I’ve got to get better both mentally and physically.

“It’s given me time to think about everything that’s happened this year.”

Kyrgios has been competing for the Singapore Slammers in the IPTL during December, and helped the Slammers to retain their title with victory over the Indian Aces.

Having played IPTL for three years running, Kyrgios said the exhibition series was excellent preparation ahead of the Australian summer.

He’s the defending champion – along with Daria Gavrilova – at the Hopman Cup and in 2015 reached the Australian Open quarterfinals.