The Hague: Australian tennis hothead Nick Kyrgios will skip next year’s Rotterdam Open to play an NBA basketball event, organisers said, questioning whether he was “100 per cent motivated” after an on-court meltdown in Shanghai.
Kyrgios, 21, was due to appear at the ATP 500 Rotterdam in February but organisers released him from his contract so he can play the NBA All Star Weekend in New Orleans instead.
It comes after Kyrgios was fined and received a three-week ban — rising to eight weeks if he doesn’t seek help to curb his temper — for giving up on points, swearing and arguing with fans and the chair umpire in Shanghai.
“We could hold him to his word, but we think it does not make much sense to put him on as he is not 100 per cent motivated,” tournament director and former player Richard Krajicek said in an official statement.
Krajicek also told a Dutch news website that organisers wanted to see a “top player on court”. “We did it because you saw what happened in China when he was tired and (tennis) has little meaning. Kyrgios prefers his passion over his profession,” nos.nl cited him as saying.
“He is doing the right thing because he gets crazy if he only thinks about tennis for six months.”
Kyrgios has frequently courted controversy since turning pro in 2013. Last year he received a suspended one-month ban for making a lewd comment about Stan Wawrinka’s girlfriend.
He has also said he dislikes playing tennis, insisting that he prefers basketball.
Earlier this week the world number 14 indicated he wanted to play fewer tournaments in 2017. During a question and answer session on Twitter, when asked what his goals were for next year, Kyrgios replied: “More time off.”
Kyrgios was also asked if he enjoyed playing tennis, to which he said: “lol”.
Meanwhile, top-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova cruised into the quarter-finals of the Kremlin Cup on Wednesday with a straight-sets win over Alize Cornet to keep her hopes alive of making the WTA Finals.
The two-time Grand Slam title winner, ranked ninth in the world, won 6-4, 7-5 in one hour 45 minutes.
Russian veteran Kuznetsova needs to win the Moscow title if she is to make the elite eight-woman field at next week’s season finale in Singapore.
If she fails, then Britain’s Johanna Konta will take the final spot.
“I was battling with myself throughout the match,” Kuznetsova said.
“I played my normal tennis from the start but after earning the lead I began to perform feebly for no reason. I was going up and down throughout the entire match.”
In the last eight, Kuznetsova will meet ninth seed Timea Babos of Hungary, who saw off another Frenchwoman, Kristina Mladenovic 6-1, 6-4.
The hopes of third seeded Carla Suarez Navarro of reaching the WTA finals were ended after a wrist injury forced her to retire from her second-round match with Daria Gavrilova of Australia.
Suarez Navarro started with an immediate break but Moscow-born Gavrilova rallied to take the opening set 6-4 in 49 minutes. Gavrilova led 3-0 in the second when Suarez Navarro decided to withdraw.
“I think I played pretty well today,” Gavrilova said. “I lost my serve in the very beginning but I felt like I was still in it. I managed to find the momentum, I had a lot of chances and finally it all worked out.”
Gavrilova will next face seventh seeded Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the 2014 title winner, who ousted 2008 Kremlin Cup champion Jelena Jankovic of Serbia 6-1, 6-4.
In the ATP event, second seeded Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas made the quarter-finals with a hard-fought 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4 win over local favourite, Evgeny Donskoy.
ATP/WTA Kremlin Cup results in Moscow on Wednesday (x denotes seeding):
Men
2nd rd
Albert Ramos-Vinolas (ESP x2) bt Evgeny Donskoy (RUS) 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4
Fabio Fognini (ITA) bt Paolo Lorenzi (ITA x7) 7-5, 4-6, 6-1
Stephane Robert (FRA) bt Lukas Rosol (CZE) 7-5, 6-1
1st rd
Andrei Kuznetsov (RUS x8) bt Guido Pella (ARG) 6-3, 5-7, 6-2
Alexander Bublik (RUS) bt Konstantin Kravchuk (RUS) 1-6, 6-3, 6-3
Damir Dzumhur (BIH) bt Karen Khachanov (RUS) 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-4
Women
2nd rd
Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS x1) bt Alize Cornet (FRA) 6-4, 7-5
Timea Babos (HUN x9) bt Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) 6-1, 6-4
Elina Svitolina (UKR x4) bt Yulia Putintseva (KAZ) 6-2, 6-2
Ana Konjuh (CRO) bt Anna Blinkova (RUS) — walkover
Darya Kasatkina (RUS x8) bt Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) 6-4, 6-1
Julia Goerges (GER) bt Elena Vesnina (RUS x5) 7-5, 6-0
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) bt Jelena Jankovic (SRB) 6-1, 6-4
Daria Gavrilova (AUS) bt Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP x3) 6-4, 3-0 — retired
Results from the WTA Luxembourg tournament on Wednesday (x denotes seeding):
2nd rd
Petra Kvitova (CZE x1) bt Varvara Lepchenko (USA) 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
Johanna Larsson (SWE x8) bt Mona Barthel (GER) 6-1, 6-4
Andrea Petkovic (GER) bt Caroline Garcia (FRA x4) 6-1, 6-1
Lauren Davis (USA) bt Kristyna Pliskova (CZE) 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
Denisa Allertova (CZE) bt Tereza Smitkova (CZE) 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3
Kiki Bertens (NED x3) bt Anna Karolmna Schmiedlova (SVK) 6-3, 6-1
Monica Niculescu (ROM) bt Francesca Schiavone (ITA) 3-6, 7-5, 6-4
Caroline Wozniacki (DEN x2) bt Sabine Lisicki (GER) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
