Nick Kyrgios stated that concentrating on the Japan Open this week was “not difficult at all,”
notwithstanding his accused common assault being heard in court on Tuesday at his Australian residence.
On the very same day, he is scheduled to compete in Tokyo, the 27-year-old Wimbledon finalist,
will have his case heard before a magistrates’ court in Canberra.
When they have legal representation, defendants frequently choose not to show up for hearings that are primarily administrative.
The specifics of Kyrgios’ accusation remain a secret.
The unconventional world No. 20 is competing in his first match since falling in the quarterfinals of the US Open last month,
claimed to have been working on the case “for months” and to be taking it “day by day.”
“There’s only so much I can control and I’m taking all the steps and dealing with that off the court,”
One of tennis’ most divisive players, Kyrgios, remarked in the Japanese capital on Monday.
“I can only do what I can and I’m here in Tokyo and just trying to play some good tennis, continue that momentum and just try to do my job – and that’s play tennis, play it well. That’s it.”
The unpredictable Kyrgios, whose performance on the court has frequently deceived his promise,
stated he was “super excited” to be back on the court in Tokyo following his “heartbreaking” loss to Karen Khachanov of Russia at the US Open.
He claimed that the defeat had “added a bit of fuel” to his ambition and that he is,
now prepared to win his maiden Grand Slam at the Australian Open the following year.
“Grand Slams is all you really get remembered by”: Nick Kyrgios
“I thought the US Open was a great chance – obviously that one really, really hurt because I definitely thought that I was the favourite after I beat (Daniil) Medvedev,”
he stated.
“Now I just have to wait until the Australian Open but I just want to keep my form, the way I’m playing, I want to keep that going,”
he stated.
“I’m doing all the right things so I definitely think I can win a Grand Slam, for sure,”
he added.
In spite of winning the first set, Kyrgios lost to Novak Djokovic in the Grand Slam final at Wimbledon this year.
He claimed that after gaining more experience in five-set matches and “working on all area of my game,”
he now believes that mentally, he can “win any match.”
“For a couple of years I didn’t even get past the third round – I wasn’t training hard enough, I probably wasn’t taking the sport seriously enough,”
he remarked.
“Now, the last year and a half I’ve been training really, really hard.”
Fifth-seeded Kyrgios will face Taiwanese player Tseng Chun-hsin in the opening round of the Tokyo tournament.
The draw also includes top seed Casper Ruud, Taylor Fritz, and US Open semifinalist Frances Tiafoe.
However, he added that it was “easy to get motivated” in Tokyo, where he triumphed in 2016.
Kyrgios claimed that
“Grand Slams is all you really get remembered by.”
“You can’t just rock up to a Grand Slam and expect to win it,”
he said.
“You’ve got to put the building blocks in and the foundations in place. I’m super excited to be here, that’s for sure.”
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