Canberra tennis star Nick Kyrgios doesn’t expect to remain on tour for too many more years and said he probably won’t play in the Laver Cup again.
The Australian spoke to reporters after failing to inspire Team World with a straight sets defeat to Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas in singles, part of a sweep of Saturday’s matches for Team Europe as they went up 11-1 over Team World.
Kyrgios said the three-day exhibition being played in Boston will “definitely” will be his last event of 2021.
“This is my probably my last Laver Cup,” the 26-year-old said after he was beaten by French Open runner-up and world No.3 Tsitsipas 6-3 6-4.
“I don’t know how much longer I will be in tennis.
“This is my last event of the year. I will get my body right ahead of the Aus Open.
“My mum is not doing too well with her health. I’d like to go back and see her.”
Against Tsitsipas, not even a new haircut, with a speeding tennis ball pattern shaved into the back, could do much to help Kyrgios – who said that his career on the tour could soon be coming to an end.
“As long as I’m on the court, I will try and give my best, but I’m not going to lie and say that I’m going to plan to play four or five more years on tour,” he said.
Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Alexander Zverev of Germany defeated John Isner of the US in a match tiebreaker 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (6-8) 10-5.
At night, US Open champion Daniil Medvedev of Russia made Team Europe 6-0 in singles matches so far with a 6-4 6-0 victory over Denis Shapovalov of Canada.
That was followed by Andrey Rublev of Russia and Tsitsipas beating Kyrgios and Isner 6-7 (6-8) 6-3, 10-4 in doubles.
The first side to reach 13 points wins the Laver Cup, so all Team Europe needs on Sunday is to take one of the remaining four matches.
Each victory is worth one point on Friday, two points on Saturday and three on Sunday.
Tsitsipas, who came under scrutiny at Flushing Meadows for both the timing and length of his mid-match bathroom breaks that critics considered unfair gamesmanship, didn’t leave the court in his match with Kyrgios on Saturday but did require a break to replace a worn out pair of shoes during his win.
Early in the second set, he interrupted his own service game at 15-15 and took several minutes installing new laces before ultimately deciding to put on fresh shoes, given that the original pair did not stand up well to the indoor surface.
When play resumed, Tsitsipas used his serve to overwhelm Kyrgios and control the rallies before ultimately sealing the win with a solid forehand passing shot.
AAP
