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Published 17:20 IST, January 23rd 2020

Nick Kyrgios supports Celtics, wears LeBron James' Lakers jersey at Australian Open

Nick Kyrgios was wearing Lakers jersey while practicing ahead of second-round clash against Giles Simon. He went onto beat his French opponent 6-2,6-4,4-6,7-5.

Reported by: Suraj Alva
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Nick Kyrgios
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There is no denying that Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios is a huge fan of NBA team Boston Celtics and it was visible during the US Open last year where he took his appreciation one step forward by wearing Gordon Hayward’s jersey during a practice session. However, recently, Kyrgios grabbed eyeballs by wearing Celtics' Western conference rivals, LA Lakers' jersey while practising ahead of his second-round clash against Giles Simon on Thursday.

Also Read: Nick Kyrgios Net Worth, Endorsements, Playing Career And Australia Bushfires Donation

Nick Kyrgios reveals reason behind being a Celtics fan

Nick Kyrgios, in one of his columns for The Players Tribune, said that his love for the Boston Celtics came from video games. Back in 2006, when he was 11 years old, he got his first NBA Live game on PSP — that’s the PlayStation Portable. He had written that he was just starting to travel a lot for tennis all over Australia and needed a way to pass time between tournaments. Unfamiliar with the cast of NBA teams at the time, Kyrgios ended up playing with the Celtics in the game because he “thought the logo looked cool,” but soon fell in love with the franchise.

 

Also Read: Nick Kyrgios Lashes Out At Media For Asking Invasive Questions To Mixed Doubles Partner

Australian Open: Nick Kyrgios wears LeBron James' Lakers jersey 

Nick Kyrgios is a huge basketball fan and has been seen wearing jerseys of various NBA teams. In a recent video posted by the Australian Open's Twitter handle, Kyrgios was seen wearing a LeBron James jersey while practising on the court. In an interview to the British press in 2015, Kyrgios had said that he prefers basketball over tennis. He had said that he did not like the sport of tennis that much. He had said that at the age of 14, he was all for basketball and made the decision to play tennis after he got pushed by his parents and till the day he can still say that he doesn’t love the sport.

Also Read: Australian Open: Roger Federer Reacts To Facing John Millman, Cracks Joke About Rivalry

Nick Kyrgios attends NBA celebrity game 

In 2016, Nick Kyrgios was allowed to participate in an NBA celebrity game after being released from his contract with an ATP event in the Netherlands. Richard Krajicek, who was the tournament director of the ANB Amro event in Rotterdam at that time, posted a link to a statement on Twitter saying that he had agreed to cancel the contract at the request of Kyrgios.

Also Read: Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer Combine To Donate AUD 250,000 For Australia Bushfire Victims

Australian Open: Nick Kyrgios enters third round

Nick Kyrgios entered the third round of the Australian Open after beating Gilles Simon in four sets. Kyrgios beat Simon 6-2,6-4,4-6,7-5 to advance to the next round. The Australian fired a total of 28 aces in the match, raising $5000 AUD for the Australian bushfire victims in just one match.

17:20 IST, January 23rd 2020