Fewer tournaments for Kyrgios
TROUBLED Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios has indicated he will play fewer tournaments next year after his meltdown at the Shanghai Masters saw him slapped with an eight-week ban.
The world No 14, who gave away points and swore and argued with fans before being booed off court after his secondround defeat in China last week, blamed mental fatigue and his body giving up physically.
It led to the ATP ordering a $25 000 (R350 000) fine and the ban, which can be reduced to three weeks if the 21-yearold sees a psychologist, which Tennis Australia said he had agreed to do.
In a question-and-answer session on Twitter yesterday, the suspended star was asked what his goals were for next year. “More time off,” he replied.
He was also questioned on whether he enjoyed playing tennis, to which he answered: “lol”.
The Shanghai outburst was the latest incident involving the Australian. Last year he was given a suspended one-month ban for making comments to Swiss star Stanislas Wawrinka about his girlfriend.
If he goes through with his commitment to seek help for his temper, he could return to the tour on November 7. But with no more tournaments to play then, his year is effectively over. Asked on Twitter what his biggest win of the year was, he replied: “Just beat Ajla in a backhand to backhand game,” referring to his girlfriend, fellow tennis player Ajla Tomljanovic, despite claiming titles in Tokyo, Atlanta and Marseille. – SuperSport