Nick Kyrgios will be playing in this week’s Japan Open, despite his court hearing on Tuesday at home in Australia for alleged assault.
The 27-year-old Wimbledon finalist is due to have his case heard at a magistrates’ court in Canberra, on the same day he is scheduled to play in Tokyo.
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It is common for defendants not to appear for largely administrative hearings where they have legal representation.
Details of the allegation against Kyrgios have not been disclosed.
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In July, however, it was reported that his former partner Chiara Passari had accused him of physical assault.
The World No 20, who lost in the quarterfinals of the US Open last month, said that he had been dealing with the case “for months” and was taking it “day by day”.
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“There’s only so much I can control and I’m taking all the steps and dealing with that off the court,” Kyrgios, one of the most polarising figures in tennis, said on Monday.
“I can only do what I can and I’m here in Tokyo and just trying to play some good tennis, continue that momentum and just try to do my job — and that’s play tennis, play it well. That’s it.”
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The temperamental Kyrgios said he was “super excited” to be back in action in Tokyo.
“I thought the US Open was a great chance — obviously that one really, really hurt because I definitely thought that I was the favourite after I beat (Daniil) Medvedev,” he said.
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“Now I just have to wait until the Australian Open but I just want to keep my form, the way I’m playing, I want to keep that going,” he said.
“I’m doing all the right things so I definitely think I can win a Grand Slam, for sure,” he added.
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Kyrgios reached his first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon this year but lost to Novak Djokovic, despite winning the first set.
He said that mentally he now feels he can “win any match” after picking up more experience of playing five-set matches and “working on every aspect of my game”.
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Kyrgios is seeded five in Tokyo and will play Taiwan’s Tseng Chun-hsin in the first round.
Top seed Casper Ruud, US Open semi-finalist Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz also feature in the draw.
