Australia’s Nick Kyrgios says he has ‘a lot of thoughts’ concerning the revelation that he has been charged with assaulting his former girlfriend.
On Tuesday it was reported in the media that the tennis star has been summoned to court next month over an incident involving his former partner Chiara Passari. The incident is reported to have taken place in December 2021 which has triggered the charge of ‘common assault.’ In the worst-case scenario, those convicted of such offenses can face up to two years in prison in extreme cases.
The timing of the news coincides with Kyrgios enjoying his best-ever win at a Grand Slam. He defeated Cristian Garin in straight sets to book a showdown with Rafael Nadal in the Wimbledon semi-finals. A player who he has beaten on three previous occasions. It was after his milestone win when the tennis star was asked about the assault charge.
“Obviously I have a lot of thoughts, a lot of things I want to say, kind of my side about it,” he said.
“I’ve been advised by my lawyers that I’m unable to say anything at this time.’
“I understand everyone wants to kind of ask about it and all that, but I can’t give you too much on that right now.”
Due to the ongoing legal case, it is unclear if Kyrgios was informed about the charge on the same day the news broke out or before. Although he has assured that the development had no impact on his preparations or affected his mentality at The All England Club.
“It didn’t really affect me at all, to be honest,” he stated.
“Obviously seeing it — I’m only human. I read about it and everyone else was asking questions. It was hard. It was hard to kind of just focus on the mission at hand. It was the quarterfinals of Wimbledon today. I know deep down that’s what I was prepared for.’
“It didn’t really affect my preparation at all. I knew I stayed true to myself and gave my best performance today.”
The court is a much happier place for Kyrgios at the moment. Currently ranked 40th in the world he is the lowest-ranked player to reach the last four at Wimbledon since Marat Safin did so in 2008. His win-loss record on the grass this season currently stands at 12-2.
The surge in form for the tennis star comes during what has been a roller-coaster career where he had doubted on multiple occasions if he wanted to continue playing.
“I obviously had thoughts the last year, year and a half, whether I wanted to play anymore. I lost the love, lost the fire and lost the spark,” Kyrgios reflects.
“Then some things just changed in my life. I kind of just rediscovered that I’ve got a lot of people that want me to play, that I play for. I’ve got a lot left in the tank. I feel like I’m probably playing some of my best tennis, mentally I’m feeling great.”
As for his upcoming clash with Nadal, the former top 20 star feels that it could be a very special encounter. Although the match is currently overshadowed by Nadal’s health with him nursing an abdominal injury.
“We are two completely different personalities. I feel like we respect the hell out of each other, though,” he said. “I feel like that would be a mouth-watering kind of encounter for everyone around the world. That would probably be the most-watched match of all time. I would argue that.”
Kyrgios will play Nadal on Friday.
