Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios has withdrawn from the Australian Open men's doubles. Kyrgios, partnered with Australia's Matt Reid in the doubles, was scheduled to play Frenchmen Jeremy Chardy and Fabrice Martin in the second round on Saturday. The fiery Australian reportedly pulled out of the doubles event believing he has a serious chance of winning the Grand Slam title in the singles.
"Why the f*** am I playing doubles?" the Daily Express quoted Kyrgios as saying during his singles match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Friday night.
"Hours in 50-degree heat ... really good management," he spouted.
On Friday, Kyrgios held his composure to beat childhood hero Tsonga 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5) in the third round. The 17th-seeded Kyrgios won the last five points after falling behind 5-2 in the tiebreaker.
For an Australian public desperate to see a first home-grown winner of the men's national title since 1976, a seemingly reinvigorated Kyrgios could be the redemption story of the tournament.
Kyrgios will play Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria in the men's singles round of 16 on Sunday.
(With Agency Inputs)
