Nick Kyrgios requests its cancellation then changes his mind

When Nick Kyrgios speaks, we listen to him. Especially in Australia, where he is a national icon. And his last media release was not to everyone’s liking. The current 90th player in the world had proposed, in recent hours, to cancel the Australian Open scheduled for January out of respect for the inhabitants of Melbourne, the city experiencing all the difficulties in the world to contain the Covid epidemic.

“How long has (Melbourne) been confined? 275 days or something like that? He asked on his podcast, No Boundaries. The Minister of Sports of the State of Victoria, where Melbourne is located, reacted by saying that he “cannot follow the logic” of Kyrgios.

Check my Instagram for a full update on my comments on the Australian Open ❤️❤️❤️ (insta story)

— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) November 16, 2021

“We’ve had a long lockdown so the Australian Open shouldn’t be going on? I’m not sure I’m following well. I think the opposite applies, ”he told reporters. “The people of Melbourne, Victoria and frankly all Australians are absolutely hungry for big events,” he explained. “Our economy needs it, the morale of our state needs it”.

A few hours later, the tennis player returned to his words in a video posted on Instagram. “To say that I would like the cancellation of the Australian Open is a sentence taken out of context. It’s for the people of Melbourne who have known hell, ”he said.

Kyrgios flies to the aid of Djokovic

The Australian also supported Novak Djokovic, of whom he is not a big fan, on the issue of vaccination, while the OA will not be accessible to unvaccinated players. The Australian defends Djokovic’s right to compete, whether or not he is immune, and draws a parallel with American basketball player Kyrie Irving, who missed the start of the NBA season after refusing to be vaccinated.

“Kyrie, Novak… These guys gave so much, sacrificed so much. These are world athletes that millions of people watch, ”said Kyrgios, who fell to 90th place in the ATP rankings. “I think it’s wrong, morally, to force someone to be vaccinated. I don’t think it’s fair to force someone (to be vaccinated) and say ‘you can’t come and play here because you’re not vaccinated’, ”he added. “There are other solutions, (like) getting tested every day.”