Nick Kyrgios opens up on locker room emergency after horrifying Indian Wells ‘accident’ | Tennis | Sport
Nick Kyrgios left fans disgusted after revealing his most embarrassing locker room moment, which came the last time he played in Indian Wells. The 26-year-old is featuring in just his second tournament in six months and is through to the last 16, where he faces world No 10 Jannik Sinner on Wednesday.
Kyrgios is enjoying a dominant run in the desert, having dropped just 16 games across his opening three matches, including a win over world No 8 Casper Ruud in the latest instalment of their feud. After ending his season last September with a knee injury, the current world No 132’s only singles loss so far has come to world No 1 Daniil Medvedev, while he picked up a maiden Grand Slam title in the Australian Open men’s doubles alongside long-time friend Thanasi Kokkinakis.
Returning to the BNP Paribas Open for the first time since 2019, the Aussie has gushed over his new positive outlook and put it into action on the match court, winning his first three matches in straight sets to make the last 16. He now faces Sinner for a spot in the quarters which would equal his previous career-best result at the BNP Paribas Open in 2017, when he was forced to withdraw ahead of his quarter-final match against Roger Federer.
Clearly enjoying his time in the Californian desert this week, Kyrgios sat down for a quickfire video with Tennis Channel and revealed that the most embarrassing thing to happen to him in a locker room came in his last appearance here, as his answer shocked many. “Most embarrassing locker room moment? Actually, funny story,” he started.
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After a mortifying experience during his last BNP Paribas Open, Kyrgios is now hoping to do something special on the court in Indian Wells. Speaking after his 6-4 6-4 win over Ruud he said: “I wanna keep my head down, I wanna do big things.”
He will have a tough test in 10th seed Sinner next, which will be their first career meeting. The young Italian suffered a wobble in his previous 7-6(5) 3-6 6-4 against Benjamin Bonzi. After dropping the second set, Sinner raced to a 5-2 lead in the decider but the Frenchman was able to break. He mounted a comeback to 5-4 before the 20-year-old managed to close it out in two hours and 37 minutes.
