Published 12:19 IST, January 21st 2020
Nick Kyrgios wins fans over by rejecting Rod Laver Arena for R1 match and here is why
Nick Kyrgios has ignored the Rod Laver Arena at the Australian Open in order to make his 1st round match accessible to the public. Here is the reason why.
Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios has ignored the Rod Laver Arena at the Australian Open 2020 in order to play at a publicly-available arena on Tuesday. Kyrgios will square off against World No.51 Lorenzo Sonego at the Melbourne Arena for his first-round match. The move is set to win the local boy all the more support and hearts as well.
Nick Kyrgios rejects Rod Laver Arena for Round 1
The Melbourne Arena is open to fans with ground passes, as opposed to Rod Laver Arena and Margaret Court Arena, where premium prices are charged for high-profile games. Generally, Grand Slam centre court matches are a player's dream. Yet, the 23rd seed requested the authorities to play in front of a greater amount of fans instead.
As a result, World No.4 Daniil Medvedev plays Frances Tiafoe on Tuesday night at the Rod Laver Arena. Nick Kyrgios, who is immensely popular in Australia, despite being enraging to his haters, should be rewarded with an amazing support at the Melbourne Arena. Although the Melbourne Arena can only hold 10,500 fans as compared to 14,820 at the Rod Laver Arena.
Nick Kyrgios has confessed that he often struggles for motivation on the ATP Tour but thrives on his home crowd's support. He has been in terrific form this summer, notching up a win over World No.6 Stefanos Tsitsipas during the ATP Cup. Kyrgios' request also solved an awkward problem for Open organisers, who are occasionally forced to decide whether Australian players or top international stars should get slots at the Rod Laver Arena.
Australia bushfires: Nick Kyrgios won hearts with initiating charity match
Nick Kyrgios sent out a tweet on New Year's Day to Tennis Australia. In his tweet, the current World No. 30 urged Tennis Australia to organise an exhibition event in order to raise funds for the victims of the Australia bushfires. Nick Kyrgios' idea was to organise a pre-Australian Open event of sorts. Incidentally, his tweet found immediate support from another Australian tennis star John Millman, who commended Nick Kyrgios for the idea and also called upon Tennis Australia to act on the incident. The match saw the likes of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka amongst big stars participate in it.
ALSO READ | Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer combine to donate AUD 250,000 for Australia bushfire victims
IMAGE COURTESY: NICK KYRGIOS INSTAGRAM
Updated 12:19 IST, January 21st 2020