Nick Kyrgios has revealed that he is desperate to face Jannik Sinner at the Australian Open despite publicly calling out the world No. 1 for months.
The 29-year-old has been outspoken since the International Tennis Integrity Agency confirmed Sinner was ruled to have borne “no fault of negligence” for two failed anti-doping tests earlier this year, even calling for him to be banned.
As Kyrgios prepares to return from a two-year injury layoff, he’s still “p***ed off” with Sinner and keen to face the Italian on the match court.
After being sidelined by knee and wrist injuries, the former world No. 13 will make his comeback at the Brisbane International before playing the Australian Open. And Kyrgios has already set his sights on facing one player – Sinner.
During an appearance on the Nothing Major podcast hosted by Jack Sock, John Isner, Sam Querrey and Steve Johnson, he said: “Let’s be honest, I just want to go out there and I really want to play Sinner.
“If I played him in the Australian Open, I’d get every person in the crowd to get on him. I would turn into an absolute riot. All respect would go out the window and I would just do anything to win.”
The 2022 Wimbledon finalist also weighed in on Sinner’s doping saga again. The Italian twice tested positive for the prohibited substance clostebol during Indian Wells in March.
He was provisionally suspended twice but appealed and had them lifted, successfully arguing that he was contaminated via his physio. Following an independent tribunal hearing in August, it was ruled that Sinner bore “no fault of negligence.”
The two-time Major winner was not banned, but his ranking points and prize money from Indian Wells were removed. The World Anti-Doping Agency has since appealed the ITIA’s decision, suggesting that Sinner bears some fault as his employees are his responsibility.
Kyrgios continued: “Once you get caught, you can’t act like the victim. That’s what pisses me off even more about it. I’m like, ‘Hold on a second… you employ your team, don’t you?’
“Say we go out and have a party, how in our sport can someone get punished two years for having a night out versus someone who’s actually trying to enhance their performance? It’s not even a conversation of which one is worse in my opinion. Obviously they’re both bad.”
Kyrgios also turned his attention back to his comeback. Reflecting on his injury woes, he added: “I had major wrist surgery after 2022 and I honestly thought I wasn’t going to play again.
“I was having pain in my wrist. You guys know, you look at some of these guys that have had wrist surgeries – Delpo, Thiem – they never came back the same. I I probably won’t be ever the same player that I was.”
Ahead of his return, Kyrgios will also compete in the upcoming World Tennis League exhibition in Abu Dhabi. He will be in Team Kites with Casper Ruud, Jasmine Paolini and Barbora Krejcikova.
