Nick Kyrgios vents over missing white towels in Stuttgart opening loss
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Australia's Nick Kyrgios demanded white towels as “They soak up the sweat better."
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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STUTTGART – Australian firebrand Nick Kyrgios got upset over a lack of white towels, and later pleaded for patience following a straight-set loss to China’s Wu Yibing on his return to tennis in Stuttgart.
The 25th-ranked player, runner-up 11 months ago at Wimbledon to newly crowned French Open champion Novak Djokovic, lost 7-5, 6-3 to world No. 64 grass-court debutant Wu on Tuesday.
Kyrgios, playing for the first time since undergoing surgery on his left knee in January, tweeted afterwards: “Be patient with me my fans please. It’s a process to get back to where I was.
“I know it’s hard for you to see me perform like today, but I need more time and hopefully can get back to where I was.”
The 28-year-old’s mood turned sour in the first set, with complaints about the colour of the towels, the bounce of the grass court and a shortage of sideline water.
But it was the coloured sponsor towels on court that got the famously fiery Kyrgios steaming.
“It took me three games to get white towels,” he said after his first-round loss to Wu, who won the Dallas title in February.
“They soak up the sweat better. I’m the same at every tourney. They all have white ones in the locker room.
“I’m not asking to move mountains. White towels actually take the sweat off my body – we are professional athletes.”
China’s Wu Yibing in action during his first-round match against Nick Kyrgios.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Kyrgios, whose previous tour-level match was last October in Tokyo, added: “I have to get used to playing in front of the crowd again. Feeling the moments like break points – all that stuff is new to me again.
“I made it through the match with no major pain. I’ve got a lot more work to do, but I’m taking some positive signs from it.”
Despite losing, the big-serving Kyrgios still racked up 15 aces, while Wu is hoping to improve his own serve as he gets more used to grass.
“I’m very happy to have played Nick in the first round, he’s one of the best players on grass,” said the Chinese player, 23, who faces Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics next.
“The key for me was to stay cool, stay patient and find a way.
“He has a better serve than me, but I was more patient. I will work to improve my serve.”
Kyrgios is due to compete next week on grass in Halle, Germany, where he lost in the semi-finals last season. AFP
