Casper Ruud admits he didn’t get a Christmas card from Nick Kyrgios, but noted that they say hello to each other. When Ruud and Kyrgios met during the 2019 Rome Masters, Ruud became so frustrated with Kyrgios’s behavior that he called him a “jerk on court”
During the 2022 Indian Wells Masters, Ruud and Kyrgios met for the first time since the Rome incident, as the Australian beat the Norwegian 6-4 6-4. At one point in his Indian Wells, Kyrgios ranted on camera: “Now I don’t hear talk.
I don’t hear talk now. None. F —— none “At his press conference prior to the inaugural United Cup tournament, Ruud was asked about his relationship with Kyrgios”. You know, I didn’t get a Christmas card from him; nor did he receive one from me.
But if we see each other we can say hello and there are no hard feelings. Nick is such a talented player that he can beat anyone. I mean, you don’t want to antagonize him, because he probably wants to give his best in every match,” Ruud said of Kyrgios.
Ruud, world number 3, does not have many points to defend at the start of the new season. Last season, Ruud started the year at the ATP Cup before picking up an injury just a day before the start of the Australian Open and being forced out of the tournament.
With 1,000 points less than Carlos Alcaraz, the highest ranked, Ruud could become the new number 1 in the world with good performances in the United Cup, Auckland and the Australian Open. “If there’s one time it could happen again, it’s in the near future.”
Tiley on Nick Kyrgios
Criticized for withdrawing from the United Cup at the very last moment, Nick Kyrgios, who was quick to respond, received the support of his federation president and director of the Australian Open, Craig Tiley.
The latter, speaking on the Australian channel Today, spoke at length to explain the package of the one everyone was waiting for in this new mixed team competition. “We had conversations with Nick. He makes a precautionary decision to protect his ankle in his preparation for the Australian Open.
He gave himself, in our opinion, the best possible chance by maximizing the time until he was cleared to withdraw from the event. Most athletes – this is Nick’s case – will give themselves the best possible chance to compete and make a decision as late as possible.
It’s more difficult when you’re in the United Cup, which is a team competition, so it impacts others, but withdrawals are quite common…when players are preparing for a major event and they have several preliminary events.
We have Adelaide starting and Hobart coming in…there will probably be other athletes in the same situation as Nick. We’re confident he’ll be fine, and we can’t wait to see him play. He loves to play the Australian Open, we’ve seen the energy he brings to the court and I think the big challenge will be deciding which court to put him on.”
