Kyrgios commits to playing Roland-Garros in 2023
The Australian last played at the French Open in 2017 but says he will be back in 2023
Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios has confirmed that he will play the French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in 2023 in an interview at this week’s ATP Houston event.
Kyrgios, who will be skipping the European clay court season in 2022 after the U.S. Clay Court Men’s Championships in Houston and plans to return for the grass swing, said he planned to play the clay court Grand Slam next year because his girlfriend wanted to visit Paris.
Kyrgios has a 5-5 record at the French Open, reaching the third round in 2015 and 2016 but last played in the Paris Grand Slam in 2017.
The Australian has had a resurgent first quarter in the new season. After going down to Daniil Medvedev in the second round of the Australian Open in ofur sets, the 26-year-old reached the quarter-finals in Indian Wells and the fourth round in Miami, taking his ranking from No 134 to his current position of No 94.
During the past month, he beat 6 players ranked 61 or higher, including wins over two top 10 players – Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev. He also currently leads the ATP Doubles Race to Turin with partner Thanasi Kokkinakis after they teamed up to win the Australian Open men’s doubles title.
Kyrgios playing singles & doubles in Houston before break at home
Kyrgios will also play doubles in Houston this week. With Kokkinakis heading back to Australia, Kyrgios has teamed up with American Jack Sock. The duo, seeded third, play their first round match agianst Andre Goransson/ Nathaniel Lammons on Monday.
In singles, Kyrgios, who came in as a wild card entrant, plays American Mackenzie McDonald in the first round with a potential second-round clash against seventh seed Tommy Paul.
When asked why he did not consider entering the 2022 edition, Kyrgios stated that he and his girlfriend wanted to be back home in Australia after their five-week stretch on the road in the United States (for Indian Wells, Miami and now Houston) and before the grass court swing, adding that spending time at home with their loved ones was important for both of them.