Rival's words of encouragement for 'super nice' Nick Kyrgios

American Steve Johnson has vowed not to get dragged out of his comfort zone and into any Nick Kyrgios theatrics when the two mates joust in the first round of the US Open.

Kyrgios goes into the showdown after copping the biggest fine on ATP record for his stunning tantrum at the Cincinnati Masters.

Playing his home grand slam for the 10th time, Johnson considers himself seasoned enough not to get distracted by his opponent's antics.

That's not always easy against Kyrgios, a mercurial talent with a tendency to get under the skin of rivals even if he doesn't mean to as he stoushes with umpires, officials and even supporters in his own box.

It's conduct capable of upsetting the rhythm and focus of any opposing player.

"You've just really got to focus on what you're trying to accomplish, what's working, what's not working, what you can fix," Johnson said.

"So I'm just going to try and focus on my side of the net and he's going to do what he's going to do and if I can control my side, I feel pretty confident in my abilities."

Friendly with Kyrgios off court, Johnson doesn't expect any dramas from the Australian anyway and is more concerned about coping with the two-time major quarter-finalist's firepower and finesse.

Despite the spotlight being on his behaviour after another signature meltdown, in Cincinnati two weeks ago, Kyrgios boasts a tour-best five-from-seven record against top-10 rivals in 2019, as well as two hardcourt titles.

"He's one of the best servers in the game, extremely talented," Johnson said of the 28th seed.

"Mentally, you know it's any given day (how he performs). He has the talent to be a top-five guy, in my opinion.

"But this is a hard sport; it's hard to put your best foot forward every day and that's what we all try and do.

"He's a super nice guy, I always enjoy my time with him.

"Off the court, he just loves to talk basketball and we kind of hang out, so it's going to be a fun one.

"Hopefully it will be a good one.

"My approach will be, first and foremost, take care of business on my serve, try and hold every time I've got the balls in my court.

"And when he's serving, just try and get in as many points as possible and just be as mentally tough game in and game out and hopefully make him work for it.

"That's usually what I do regardless of who I'm playing so that's going to be the game plan out there."

AUSTRALIANS IN ACTION ON DAY TWO OF THE US OPEN ON TUESDAY (WEDNESDAY AEST):

Men's singles, first round

28-Nick Kyrgios v Steve Johnson (USA)

John Millman v 2-Rafael Nadal (ESP)

Jordan Thompson v Joao Sousa (POR)

Alexei Popyrin v Federico Delbonis (ARG)

Thanasi Kokkinakis v Ilya Ivashka (BLR)

Women's singles, first round

Ajla Tomljanovic v Maria Kouzkova (CZE)

Astra Sharma v Magda Linette (POL)