Nick Kyrgios has gone to ground at Wimbledon amid assault claims from his ex-girlfriend as The All England Club confirmed the Aussie’s quarter-final clash against Chilean Cristian Garin for a spot in the final four, will go ahead.
The under-fire Australian, who usually practises ahead of matches in front of the cameras, took a more low-key approach and hit the practice courts away from media attention although he was confronted by British television cameras asking him to comment on the allegations involving his former girlfriend.
Kyrgios ignored them but according to reports he was overheard telling a member of his entourage that “I feel like I’m in The Last Dance,” – a reference to the Netflix series about Michael Jordan’s illustrious career at the Chicago Bulls.
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“Kyrgios was scheduled to have a practice session on one of the practice courts about 15 minutes after the story broke,” Nine’s Tony Jones told Today from London.
“Normally he would practice under the guise of the camera. Not today he went to the furthest section just to keep away from the media.
“I bumped into John McEnroe earlier today and he just couldn’t believe it. We were trying to work out whether he had an inkling that there was some suggestion prior to the release from the Canberra police.
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“From the media conferences he’s had so far, yes they’ve been combative but there’s been absolutely nothing.”
Wimbledon confirmed the Australian will take his place on court, with The All England Club, releasing a statement confirming Kyrgios’ final eight clash would go ahead.
“We have been made aware of legal proceedings involving Nick Kyrgios in Australia, and as they are ongoing, we are not in a position to offer a comment,” the statement read.
“We are in touch with Nick’s team and he remains scheduled to play his quarter-final match tomorrow.”
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The only response from the world No.40 was a photo posted on Instagram showing him interacting with a young girl at Wimbledon, after the charges came to light.
“This is why I play. To all my youngsters out there, believe in yourself,” he captioned the image, alongside a heart emoji.
In October last year, police were called after Kyrgios and Chiara Passari, who have since separated, had an argument at a quarantine hotel in Adelaide.
Police said at the time it was a “verbal argument” and a probe found “no offences were disclosed and both parties will now spend the remainder of their quarantine in separate rooms”.
Passari later posted claims to social media about the star’s alleged infidelity, along with screenshots of heated text messages she and Kyrgios allegedly sent each other after their argument.
The tennis star is now dating Sydney fashion blogger Costeen Hatzi, 22, who he described this week as “the best girlfriend in the world”.
If Kyrgios can defeat Garin, he’ll reach the final four at any of the sport’s four majors for the first time.
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