Nick Kyrgios fires shirty reply to ATP as Wimbledon finalist slams pre-US Open decision – Express

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Nick Kyrgios has hit out at the ATP schedule following his run to the Wimbledon final. The world No 45 questioned the tour over why there were clay events in the lead up to the US Open and North American hard court season. Kyrgios has previously shared his dislike for the clay swing, skipping it almost entirely this year.
Kyrgios took aim at the ATP calendar days after reaching his maiden Grand Slam final at Wimbledon. The 27-year-old is back at his home in the Bahamas before beginning his pre-US Open swing in Atlanta next week and has already been training for the hard courts.
While focusing on his US Open preparations, he slammed the tour’s scheduling with a series of clay events currently being held between Wimbledon and the North American hard court swing, including the current Swiss Open in Gstaad. Replying to a photo the ATP shared of the top seeds at the event, the Aussie wrote: “Why is there clay leading up to the US Open swing…..”
It’s not the first time the six-time title winner has taken issue with the clay tournaments and their significance. He opted not to play the European clay swing earlier this season, playing just one tournament on the surface in Houston for his first win on the dirt in 1055 days.
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But Kyrgios will be back at the French Open for the first time since 2017 next year, as he admitted his girlfriend wants to “see Paris” – enough of an incentive for him to play the clay-court Major after six years. Though there’s little to no chance he will ever play the small cluster of clay events post-Wimbledon, as the former world No 13 made the same argument about them last year.
The ATP tweeted the semi-final lineup for the event in Gstaad, as well as clay tournaments in Umag and Los Cabos this time last year, and the outspoken 27-year-old replied: “Bro why is there still clay.
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“Bringing in absolutely ZERO FANS, ZERO CROWDS. ZERO HYPE. It’s detrimental to the sport. My god. Excluding Gasquet, cuz he playing for just points this is just sad man. No wonder we are going backwards.”

Despite his frosty feelings towards the dirt, Kyrgios did confess that he thought his game worked well on the surface in his first and last clay outing for the year in Houston. “I slip and slide a little bit but my game actually suits clay quite well. Clay is obviously not my preferred surface but today I just served really well and started playing more aggressive and found another gear,” he said.

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