Nick Kyrgios is not guaranteed entry into the Australian Open but quickly hit back at comments made by Greg Rusedski ahead of competing at the Brisbane International
Nick Kyrgios has brutally hit back at the former British No. 1, Greg Rusedski, after the tennis pundit suggested he should NOT be handed a wildcard for the Australian Open.
The Aussie superstar is no stranger to controversial comments and took aim at Rusedski as he waits to see if he is awarded a place at Melbourne Park. Kyrgios is currently ranked 671st in the world on the ATP tour. The 30-year-old is set to return to the court for his first professional match since March, having been forced to recover from injury, though he did play in the controversial Battle of the Sexes last week.
But his win over Aryna Sabalenka did not convince Rusedski that Krygios was worthy of a place in a grand slam. “He’d have to have some phenomenal results and win in Brisbane or go deep and get to quarters or semi,” Rusedski said on the Off-Court podcast.
“He doesn’t look in the right shape to play. And you’ve got to think of all those young Australian up-and-coming players to give them the opportunity to play.
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“He is box office (talent). He brings people into stadiums, which is the positive, but I think in Australia, he’s going to have to show some form.
“From (the Battle of the Sexes) performance and what he looked like physically, I wouldn’t do it … he doesn’t look in good enough shape to play three out of five sets.”
Kyrgios has shown his vicious tongue requires no warming up ahead of his return. The veteran player pointed to Rusedski’s failed drug test in 2004 as a way of discrediting him.
Rusedski was cleared of taking banned drugs despite testing positive for the steroid nandrolone. A tribunal ruled that he had taken the drug inadvertently in pills handed out by trainers employed by the ATP “I’m pretty sure Greg got done for performance-enhancing drugs one time in his career, so I wouldn’t take too much advice from someone like that,” Kyrgios told 9News. “Remind me when the last time he sold out one of his matches.”
The Australian later conceded that if he was handed a wildcard to play in Melbourne, he would only compete if he was able to deliver an appropriate performance. “[John] Milliman gave his wildcard up for me when he was injured at the French Open,” Kyrgios told reporters at his Brisbane International pre-tournament press conference.
“He wasn’t feeling 100 per cent, and that is where everything kicked off for me in my career. After that moment, I became a different player. I learned so much.
“If I am feeling great and I can get through this week and perform at the Australian Open … people are paying good money to be there. If I can’t give them the Kyrgios experience I would genuinely rather give it to someone that earned the wildcard and is in tip-top shape to start off something special in their career.”
