Drawcard Nick Kyrgios is firming to play at the Australian Open after vision emerged of the star having a practice session at Melbourne Park on Thursday.
The development comes as Kyrgios, 29, battles an abdominal injury which threatened to keep him out of the grand slam.
Kyrgios was set to line up alongside Novak Djokovic in an exhibition event on Thursday night after the pair dazzled fans at the Pat Rafter Arena last week during the Brisbane International in the doubles.
The polarising Aussie stated after undergoing an ultrasound doctors confirmed he had suffered a grade one abdominal strain.
While fears have mounted over his fitness, Kyrgios has since given fans hope he will feature at Melbourne Park.
On Thursday afternoon at the official Australian Open draw, Kyrgios was pencilled in to play Brit Jacob Fearnley in the first round.
Nick Kyrgios is firming to play at the Australian Open after vision emerged of the star having a practice session at Melbourne Park on Thursday (pictured)
The development comes as Kyrgios, 29, battles an abdominal injury which threatened to keep him out of the grand slam
While fears have mounted over his fitness, Kyrgios has now given fans hope that he will feature at Melbourne Park ahead of the first round on Sunday
‘I mean, look, I’ve still got five days up my sleeve,’ Kyrgios told 7News on Wednesday.
‘I’ve got to probably not serve for the next couple of days, I’ve got a couple of practices scheduled and I’ll do everything I can.
‘It’s not too serious…’I’ll just take it day-by-day and give myself the best chance.
‘Obviously playing a match, a set, with Novak is probably not the best preparation for me in trying to force that.
‘I’ll just go about it accordingly. I know my body.’
Meanwhile, the 29-year-old has dragged tennis icon Roger Federer into his war of words with Andy Roddick.
Kyrgios has been outspoken on the subject of doping, notably lashing out at world number one Jannik Sinner, who failed two tests for the steroid clostebol in March last year.
Sinner then avoided a ban because the International Tennis Integrity Agency determined he was not to blame for the breach.
Last week, Kyrgios took aim at Cruz Hewitt when the 16-year-old posted a photo of him training with Sinner, posting the comments ‘Love ya Cruz but this is wild’, ‘thought we were boys’ and ‘cooked post’ with a needle emoji.
Former tennis world No.1 Andy Roddick (pictured) has labelled Nick Kyrgios a hypocrite and a bully over his treatment of Jannik Sinner and Lleyton Hewitt’s son Cruz
Kyrgios has repeatedly lashed out at tennis bosses for not suspending Jannik Sinner after he returned two positive doping test results in 2024
Jannik Sinner’s team successfully argued that the banned substance was transmitted in small doses during a massage and was not ingested intentionally
That prompted Roddick to fire an ace in the direction of Kyrgios via his Served podcast.
‘At this point he (Kyrgios) is a tennis influencer. He lives for likes, he lives in the comments section,’ Roddick said on Wednesday.
‘What I have an issue with is the hypocrisy with which he picks and chooses when to levy judgement on others while also wanting you to digest the context of his comments – the latest being towards Cruz Hewitt, who practiced with Jannik Sinner.
‘Kyrgios has been the single most outspoken critic of Jannik Sinner on the heels of his failed doping test. So Cruz Hewitt is 16 years old, son of Lleyton…..he gets to hit with a guy who is number one in the world at the Australian Open. That is a big deal.
‘Imagine as an almost 30-year-old man, going into the comments of a 16-year-old who is the best player in the world.
‘To then simply post a picture and then have this guy go into the comments and make it all about himself. ‘I thought we were bros’.
‘The defence was that it was a joke. The lack of awareness is ridiculous.’
Roddick – who won the US Open in 2003 – wasn’t finished yet, referencing Kyrgios pleading guilty to assaulting his ex-girlfriend Chiara Passari in 2021 following a heated argument.
A subsequent guilty plea saw a criminal conviction not recorded.
Nick Kyrgios is pictured with his ex-girlfriend Chiara Passari. He pleaded guilty to shoving her to the ground when he appeared in court on an assault charge in 2023
‘When you have moments in your life that aren’t the best,’ Roddick said referencing the Canberra raised star.
‘When you have plead guilty to physically assaulting your girlfriend, but you want people to understand the context.
‘You wanted people to understand your moment in time and life that didn’t make this acceptable but at least maybe say ‘this isn’t who I am, this isn’t what I do – I’m not an abuser even though I plead guilty to abuse’.’
Roddick went on to say that Kyrgios has complained about mental health issues and online bullying, but doesn’t seem to realise he is engaging in similar conduct with his behaviour online.
‘It’s just hypocritical. It’s purely hypocritical,’ he said.
Roddick has a different view of the breaches by Sinner and former women’s world No.1 Iga Swiatek, stating: ‘they are not even doping, just contaminated substances and testing for billionths of grams’.
‘Some of the players [are] chirping about these champions that will be hall of famers, when they’ve never put in two good days of work together simultaneously in their lives.’
After Roddick’s strong words went viral, Kyrgios responded on X, asking on Thursday: ‘Roddick got anything to say about Federer?
After Roddick’s strong words went viral, Kyrgios responded on X, asking: ‘Roddick got anything to say about Federer?
It was in reference to Federer stating he ‘understands the frustration’ when it comes to Sinner escaping a doping ban (Federer is pictured, with Princess Kate at Wimbledon)
The tweet – which also featured a series of crying emojis – was a reference to the Swiss maestro stating last year he ‘understands the frustration’ when it comes to Sinner escaping a ban.
‘It’s not something we want to see in our sport, regardless if he did something or not. Or any player did. It’s just noise that we don’t want,’ Federer said in September.
‘I understand the frustration of: Has he (Sinner) been treated the same as others?
‘And I think this is where it comes down to. We all trust pretty much at the end, he didn’t do anything.
‘But the inconsistency, potentially, that he didn’t have to sit out while they were not 100 per cent sure what was going on – I think that’s the question that needs to be answered.’
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .