Kyrgios has French Open plan with girlfriend after Aus Open withdrawal

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Nick Kyrgios has outlined his plans for the French Open following his heartbreaking withdrawal from the Australian Open this week. The controversial star was tipped to challenge strongly at his home Grand Slam, but on Monday revealed he had not recovered from the knee problem that had already forced him out of the United Cup and Adelaide 2 International this month.

The 2022 Wimbledon finalist claimed to be ‘devastated’ by the development, and also explained he would now need surgery to remove a cyst from his knee. And Kyrgios stopped short of predicting any kind of date for his return to action.

The second Slam of 2023 gets underway in Paris on May 28. However, it’s not a tournament that the Canberra man has always been keen to embrace, with the last of his five tournament experiences a second round exit way back in 2017.

That however, is set to change this year with Kyrgios now pledging to play for the first time in six years. He’s previously admitted that girlfriend Costeen Hatzi is desperate to visit the ‘city of love’, and that seems to have had a major bearing on his current plan.

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“The French Open is still definitely on my calendar,” he told The Age. “It’s a Grand Slam and that’ll be something I want to play. I’ve had that in the back of my mind now for the last six months. I knew Coz wants to see Paris and the French Open is there so that’s something I’ll prepare for for sure.”

And despite his lack of recent experience on clay, the 27-year-old isn’t fazed by the prospect of Roland Garros: “I haven’t played on clay and those French Open courts for five or six years so we’ll see,” he added. “But I definitely feel confident on clay, I’ve had some great wins. But look I’m not even thinking about that at the moment.”

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Kyrgios had been due to take on Roman Safiullinin in the first round at Albert Park. Instead, the Russian will face Denis Kudla in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

In 2022, the home star had earned one of the best results of his career at the tournament. He partnered close friend Thanasi Kokkinakis to the doubles title, his only Slam triumph to date.

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