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Controversial Australian tennis sensation Nick Kyrgios recently joked about retiring from tennis ahead of the 2023 season.
The Australian is currently playing in the inaugural World Tennis League in Dubai and got off to a solid start with Team Eagles doubles partner Bianca Andreescu. They won 6-2, 6-3 over Team Kites' Holger Rune and Eugenie Bouchard.
However, he lost his next singles match to the Kites' Felix Auger-Aliassime, 7-5, 6-3. The Canadian easily got the job done to lead his team to a 35-27 victory over the Eagles at the end of the day.
During an interview between the matches, Nick Kyrgios, who came close to winning his first Grand Slam at Wimbledon this year by reaching the final, joked that if he finally won a Major, he would call it quits.
"Hopefully, I can win a slam and just retire," Kyrgios said.
Asked if he would be content with a repeat performance of the current year in 2023, Kyrgios, who won three doubles titles and one singles title in 2022, stated that he wasn't sure about it.
"Would I sign again? Honestly, I don't know about it. It took a lot of hard work this season, a lot of discipline and it seems the better you do, everyone wants a bit more of you and it becomes more stressful," Kyrgios said.
The Aussie went on to express pride in reaching a Major final and exceeding expectations.
"But I had a lot of fun this season. And I’m finally just proud to say I made a slam final and started to meet some expectations. I had a lot of fun, I enjoyed it, definitely felt better off and on the court," Kyrgios stated.
"I’m a massive fan of the team environment, it gives tennis a bit of a different dynamic" - Nick Kyrgios on the format of the World Tennis League
Nick Kyrgios went on to laud the format of the World Tennis League, saying he is a "massive fan" of the team environment and that it gives the game a "different dynamic."
"I’m a massive fan of the team environment, I think it’s pretty cool," Kyrgios said, adding, "It’s a good experience for the fans and the players, not many events where I can be seen next to Rohan Bopanna and Bianca Andreescu so it’s pretty cool, it gives tennis a bit of a different dynamic."
The 2022 Australian Open men's doubles champion added that he also has his family with him in Dubai to celebrate Christmas week as he prepares for the new season.
"Obviously coming from Australia I don’t have them with me often and I’m not going to spend Christmas in Australia, so they decided to come here and just spend a couple days here and enjoy it. We’re doing a couple things and my nephew is here, so it’s pretty exciting times," Kyrgios said.
