Wimbledon 2021 - 'Absolutely brutal' - Nick Kyrgios lets rip on 'slippery' courts, tennis schedules and more
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Updated 01/07/2021 at 10:59 GMT
"The tennis schedule is brutal, it's absolutely brutal," Kyrgios said. "You have the French Open, straight on the grass, and you're just expected to bring out your best tennis from week to week. Look, I don't know if there's a solution. It just is what it is on the grass. On the clay, it's obviously, you've got the sliding, it's a bit more safe. The grass has just got that unpredictable factor."
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Nick Kyrgios suffered a very nasty fall during his first-round win over Ugo Humbert at Wimbledon and he has given his latest thoughts on the courts and tennis schedules in general.
The Australian battled through the match, which ended up spanning two days at SW19, to win 6-4 4-6 3-6 6-1 9-7 and secure his place in the second round while gaining the praise of Eurosport's Mats Wilander, who described his comeback as "incredible".
At one point deep into the match, when it resumed on Wednesday, Kyrgios became the latest big name to slip very badly on the Wimbledon grass as his leg twisted and he was left shouting out in pain.
Remarkably, given how bad the injury looked, the unseeded star still managed to gather his composure and seal victory in a thrilling and tense final set on Court One.
But after the match he let rip on a few issues that are clearly bothering him at the moment - most notably, tennis schedules and the "slippery" courts at SW19.
"Look, I don't think the rain helps, especially on the outside courts," Kyrgios began. "When the grass gets slippery, a bit unpredictable where the grass is a little slippery, where you can't really see any of that stuff.
"Look, it's just sometimes what happens on the grass. Especially I think the game's evolved now where there's so many rallies and players are so capable of making so many returns, making that extra ball, where the body's actually not supposed to be in those positions, type thing.
People slip over and injuries happen. The load as well. Like, these players have played a lot of matches. The tennis schedule is brutal, it's absolutely brutal.
"You have the French Open, straight on the grass, and you're just expected to bring out your best tennis from week to week. Look, I don't know if there's a solution. It just is what it is on the grass. On the clay, it's obviously, you've got the sliding, it's a bit more safe.
"The grass has just got that unpredictable factor where it's tough. There's no guarantee that any time you go out there you could be injured. It is what it is, you know."
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Australia's Nick Kyrgios slips while playing France's Ugo Humbert during their men's singles first round match on the third day of the 2021 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Tennis Club
Image credit: Getty Images
Earlier in the match, the 26-year-old was fuming with the speed of the courts before he took his nasty tumble.
“Guys, for you watching at home, it should be fast in here. It should be fast, That’s grasscourt tennis,” Kyrgios said during a changeover, talking to the camera.
They’ve made it slow. This isn’t grass anymore. This is slow. Slow.
“Try watering it. Make it a grass court again, thanks.”
Kyrgios will next take on Italy's Gianluca Mager after he downed the 21st seed from France.
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Nick Kyrgios
Image credit: Getty Images
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