Assault allegation made it 'hard to focus' on Wimbledon quarter-final, says Nick Kyrgios

Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios said the assault charge he is facing made it “hard to focus” ahead of his quarter-final.

Earlier this week, it surfaced that the 27-year-old has been summoned to appear in Canberra over assault allegations brought forward, according to Australian media, by his ex-girlfriend Chiara Passari.

After beating Chile's Cristian Garin in straight sets in Wimbledon's quarter-finals, Kyrgios told reporters that he had "things I want to say" but had been advised against it by lawyers.

He added: “Obviously I have a lot of thoughts and things I want to say, you know kind of my side about it but obviously I’ve being advised by lawyers that I’m unable to say anything at this time.

“So I understand that everyone wants to kind of ask about it and all that but I can’t give you too much on that right now.”

Asked if the past 24 hours threw him off, he said: “It didn’t really affect my preparation at all. I knew I stayed true to myself and give my best performance today”, but later added that it was “hard to focus” in the lead-up to the match.

“Obviously, seeing it, you know I’m only human – obviously I read about it and obviously everyone else was asking questions,” he said.

“And it was hard. It was hard to kind of just focus on kind of the mission at hand. It was quarterfinals of Wimbledon today.

“I know deep down that you know that’s what I was prepared for,” he added.

“I know that I was going to stay true to myself and give my best performance today.”

The Australian has been marred in controversy during the tournament as he received fines for his conduct during play.

The 27-year-old received a £8,260 punishment after he admitted spitting in the direction of a spectator who had heckled him during the first-round tie against Paul Jubb, and a £3,300 fine for swearing during Saturday’s fiery clash with Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Kyrgios, who has clashed with line judges at this grand slam, later broke the strict dress code at Wimbledon when he wore red Air Jordan trainers and a red cap for an on-court interview following his most recent victory.

Earlier on Wednesday, his ex-girlfriend Ajla Tomljanovic revealed she did not experience domestic violence at the hands of the Australian.

The Croatian-born Australian tennis player’s relationship with Kyrgios is said to have ended in 2018.

Tomljanovic was asked about the allegations in a press conference on Wednesday after she lost her quarter-final match against Elena Rybakina on Court No 1.

At first, the 29-year-old told reporters that she had not heard about the assault allegations.

She then said: “It’s been a while since our relationship ended so obviously I’ve always kept my relationship very private and I would like to keep it like that.

“I’m definitely against domestic violence and I hope it gets resolved, but yeah I mean haven’t had that experience with him.”

An All England Club spokesman said: “We have been made aware of legal proceedings involving Nick Kyrgios in Australia and, as they are ongoing, we are not in a position to offer a comment.

“We are in touch with Nick’s team and he remains scheduled to play his quarter-final match tomorrow.”

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