‘I’m not immature’: Nick Kyrgios shuts down haters

Tennis ace Nick Kyrgios says claims that he is a immature, spoilt and egocentric athlete couldn’t be further from the truth.

Tennis ace Nick Kyrgios has opened up about his reputation as a hothead, immature, spoilt and egocentric athlete.

“It’s not something I’m bothered about, and I don’t particularly care, to be honest,” Kyrgios told the Herald Sun.

“I know what I stand for, my morals, and what I’m trying to achieve.

“That’s the struggle of society,” he added.

“You’ve got to stop competing with others and just be yourself, and try to be better. It really puts people in dark places when they try to act like they’re something they’re not.

“They get to a point like, ‘I‘ve been wasting my life trying to paint an image that’s not even me.

“When I stopped worrying about that, that’s when I started finding some happiness.”

His comments come before f a new Uber Eats promotional campaign where he and former tennis champion Todd Woodbridge re-enact the famous cue card scene in the rom-com Love Actually.

“To me, you are perfect,” one of Woodbridge’s cards read, before a hilarious volley of follow ups accusing Kyrgios of being a hothead, spoilt, immature and egocentric.

“I can admit I’ve been a hothead over the last couple of years,” Kyrgios said.

“I wouldn’t say so much any more, but definitely towards the early stage of my career. I wore my emotions on my sleeve, and wasn’t afraid to show them.

Todd Woodbridge re-enacts a famous scene from the rom-com Love Actually for a new Uber Eats campaign.

Woodbridge concludes Kyrgios is indeed perfect.

“Immature? I don’t think so,” Kyrgios said.

“I’ve seen more in my lifetime than probably 95 per cent of Australians. I’ve seen many parts of the world … different cultures, met millions of people, seen absolute poverty … tried to help out, and I continue to do so.

“Immature is a word that gets thrown around by the uneducated.”

“Spoilt. Not entirely sure how I’m spoilt,” Kyrgios said.

“I’ve definitely earned the right to be living the life I live now, with everything around me that I’ve worked for. Nothing was given to me.”

He equates being egocentric with confidence.

“I guess the best players in the world fuel themselves when they’re out on the court,” Kyrgios said.

“I’m not going to be someone that’s not confident when I’m beating the best in the world.”

Kyrgios says it was fun to shoot the campaign, but he does not “associate” himself with those descriptions.

“I know how I am on court, and how I am off it. Two different people,” he said. “I feel that’s how athletes should be. You can’t be the same person every day. You’re a different beast when you’re competing within those lines.”

Kyrgios says it was fun to shoot the campaign.

Kyrgios flew into Melbourne for the Australian Open on a private jet on Sunday after being in isolation with Covid. He did his quarantine at a friend’s house, with a tennis court, in NSW.

“It is what it is. I’m not going to complain. A majority of people have had to deal with it, and I’m not above any of the rules,” Kyrgios said.

It “wasn’t ideal” for his AO preparation, but Kyrgios said he was fit enough to practice serves and do sprints. “I only wish I had my physio with me to help prepare my body,” he added.

But Kyrgios says he’s ready to put on a show at Melbourne Park.

“I feel like sport, entertainment, being a businessman and entrepreneur has never been so in common with each other, he said. “I feel like I’m just not a tennis player anymore, I feel like I do so much off the court, and other areas. That’s what my goal always was.

“I don’t want to be remembered as just a tennis player. At the end of the day, I want to go out there and be remembered as someone who brought smiles to people’s faces, and gave them an experience.

“I want to make people feel a certain way when watching tennis, not just the old traditional way of sport. I do it to make them feel excited, almost on edge.”

Meanwhile the blossoming relationship between the Aussie ace and his partner Costeen Hatzi appears to be heating up with the pair inseparable as he arrived in town on Sunday.

The couple were captured kissing and embracing on the sidelines during Kyrgios’ first practice session at Melbourne Park.

This comes after Kyrgios showered his 21 year-old girlfriend with gifts including a $3000 Louis Vuitton bag and a bunch of red roses.

Kyrgios shares a kiss with girlfriend Costeen Hatzi. Picture: Michael Klein.

Kyrgios has a practice session at Melbourne Park. Picture: Getty Images)

Kyrgios, who has recovered from Covid and will take to the court on Tuesday, posted a picture with his hand on Hatzi’s leg and the question: “Did I do ok coach?” accompanied with a love heart.

Hatzi, a budding influencer who recently graduated from university with a bachelor’s degree in psychological science, has also posted loved up pictures with her beau.

Their relationship has been public since December, with Kyrgios splitting from his ex Chiara Passari after a bitter end to their relationship in October.

Kyrgios’ other roles in the new Uber Eats campaigns, where viewers can choose alternative endings to watch online, feature homages to Eat, Pray, Love, Pretty Woman and Ghost.