Nick Kyrgios’ European tour travel troubles echoed by Diego Schwartzman
ATPFriday, 30 September 2022 at 05:00
Updated at Thursday, 29 September 2022 at 22:40
Nick Kyrgios will forever divide opinion amongst tennis fans
who either can’t stand his on-court theatrics or believe he is the most watchable
player on the tour.
The Australian appeared to have turned a professional corner
in 2022 with onlookers commenting how he appears more committed to the sport
than ever before.
This view appears to have been vindicated with an appearance
at a first-ever Grand Slam final at Wimbledon alongside impressive wins at the
Citi Open in Washington (in both the singles and doubles) and a run to the
quarter-finals at the US Open in New York.
Now - as is always the way with Kyrgios - there was some on-court
hysterics and bad behaviour thrown in for good measure during his summer on
tennis’s biggest stages but that is all part of the package when it comes to
Nick.
However, one of the reasons many fans have begun to warm to
the World No. 20 is his openness when it comes to talking about his family back
in Canberra and how much he misses them when spending months on tour.
At the start of September, Nick explained spending a prolonged amount of time thousands of miles from home can take its tole on his mental wellbeing.
He said: “"I’m struggling with it, to be honest. I think a big part of
me would love to just be home with my girlfriend and see our families and have
that comfortable type of lifestyle. But this is just what I do.
“I personally struggle with it because I value those little homes
at home. Obviously, I’m a tennis player who doesn’t play a heavy schedule
because of that reason. I don’t want to miss those moments. Especially when
they’re significant moments like my mum’s birthday, when she’s not healthy, in
and out of hospital"
And it now appears South American Diego Schwartzman shares
Kyrgios’s feelings of being homesick.
Schwartzman was speaking at a pre-tournament press conference in Tel-Aviv, where he was pressed about retirement given his
involvement in last weeks Laver Cup that saw Roger Federer bow out of the
sport.
The 30-year-old said: “33 — is a good age to retire,
isn’t it? South Americans are in different situations compared to European
players. We travel too much, and sometimes we are not coming back home for 2-3
months, while Europeans can fly home every week. It’s tough,” he said.
The Argentinian lost to Arthur Rinderknech in three sets in
Tel-Aviv.
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