Nick Kyrgios drops retirement bombshell after Laver Cup defeat
Not for the first time, Nick Kyrgios has hinted his time in tennis is coming to an end. this time however, a family matter looks set to bring him home.
Nick Kyrgios dropped a retirement bombshell after a straight sets defeat to Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Laver Cup.
Not for the first time, the Australian cast doubt over how much longer he would remain in the sport as time away from home remains an issue.
Kyrgios also revealed he wanted to be back in Australia to be with his mum who is unwell.
“This is my probably my last Laver Cup,” the 26-year-old said.
“I don’t know how much longer I will be in tennis.
“This is my last event of the year. I will get my body right ahead of the Aus Open.
“As long as I’m on the court, I will try and give my best, but I’m not going to lie and say that I’m going to plan to play four or five more years on tour.
“My mum is not doing too well with her health. I’d like to go back and see her.”
The 6-3, 6-4 defeat to Tsitsipas was Kyrgios’s fifth straight singles loss with his world ranking slipping to 95th.
Meanwhile, newly-crowned US Open champion Daniil Medvedev cruised past Canada’s Denis Shapovalov 6-4, 6-0 as Team Europe continued its march towards a fourth straight title.
Medvedev’s win over Team World’s Shapovalov earned two points and gave the Europeans a whopping 11-1 overall lead heading into Sunday’s final matches at the Boston Garden arena. Team Europe needs just two more points to be declared the winner.
“I played unbelievable tennis, especially in the second set,” said Medvedev. “I didn’t know what to expect because after the US Open, I didn’t play for a week-and-a-half.
“I came here, practised as much as I could the last three days. I didn’t hit many balls but, surprisingly, I was feeling good,” he added.
“At first, it was not easy. The ball was not going as fast as I wanted. He was playing really good. Then I just couldn’t miss a ball anymore.” Unless a miracle happens, Team Europe is on track to claim its fourth consecutive title after previous wins in 2019 (Geneva), 2018 (Chicago) and 2017 (Prague).
“We haven’t won yet but it is looking good,” said Team Europe captain and 11-time Grand Slam winner Bjorn Borg The Laver Cup pits six top European players against six of their counterparts from the rest of the world.
The event is played over three days. Each day four matches are played -- three singles and a doubles -- with the first team to reach 13 points declared the winner. Each win will be worth three points on Sunday.
Earlier this month Medvedev captured his first major title at the US Open with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win over Novak Djokovic, dashing the Serb’s hopes of becoming the first calendar year Grand Slam winner since 1969.
Russia’s Medvedev broke the 12th-ranked Shapovalov to open the second set and then won nine straight to clinch the lopsided victory and extend their points lead to eight.
