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Nick Kyrgios made a very public statement before his massive quarter-final win at Wimbledon and it is being described as “stage managed” by a Today Show host.
The Aussie tennis star was seen switching the venue for his pre-match training session on Wednesday night to a more prominent court where the world’s media were camped.
The 27-year-old was seen smiling with his team, and sharing some affectionate embraces with girlfriend Costeen Hatzi, who has shown nothing but public support since it was first revealed on Tuesday night he has been summoned to appear on a charge of assaulting ex-girlfriend Chiara Passari in an incident in December.
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Kyrgios was on fire as he set up a blockbuster semi-final against Rafael Nadal with a straight sets win over Cristian Garin that has seen him become the first Australian male since Lleyton Hewitt 11 years ago to reach the final four at the All England Club.
He has done it while being peppered with questions by reporters surrounding the confirmation from ACT Police that Kyrgios will face court in Canberra in August.
You would have had no idea there was turbulence in his off-court life based on his practice session on Wednesday night.
Today Show host and sports presenter Tony Jones said on Thursday morning the scene of Kyrgios looking untroubled ahead of his match was “stage managed”.
Kyrgios was seen kissing girlfriend Hatzi on the side of the court during the session and they walked out to the practice court holding hands.
“It was going to be interesting to see from the moment he arrived here at Wimbledon today,
just how he would actually react to the stories and the renewed media attention,” Jones said from Wimbledon.
“This is uncharted waters for him as well of course. So he arrived at the practice courts. Look, you can see it was stage managed if you want to be completely cynical about it. He was hand in hand with his girlfriend. He couldn’t have been more charming to everyone around him, getting selfies.
“Instead of getting to the furthest practice court, he wanted one closest to the cameras. He gave his girlfriend a kiss, and you thought, ‘OK, he’s in a pretty good frame of mind’.”
Hatzi also shared the photos of her sharing a kiss with Kyrgios on her Instagram stories.
The romantic display came as Passari said she had nothing to do with the timing of the summons being announced.
Responding to a comment of support on Instagram, Passari wrote: “Thank you. Finally someone smart enough to understand how the justice system works.”
Kyrgios was asked about the allegations in his post-match press conference.
“I have a lot of thoughts and things I want to say, my side of it,” Kyrgios said.
“But I’ve been advised by my lawyers that I can’t say anything about it at this time.”
Asked how the publication of the allegations had affected him, he replied: “It didn’t really affect me at all, to be honest with you. Obviously seeing it … I’m only human. Obviously I read about it and everybody else was asking questions. It was hard to focus on the mission at hand (which) was the quarterfinals of Wimbledon.
“I know deep down that’s what I was prepared for (and) it didn’t really affect my preparation at all. I knew I would stay true to myself and give my best performance today.”
Passari and the tennis star started dating in the middle of 2020, just three months after Kyrgios split from Russian tennis player Anna Kalinskaya.
They dated on-and-off for about 18 months, before Kyrgios confirmed he was in a new relationship with Hatzi in December last year.
Kyrgios recently suggested he is going to marry Hatzi.
Hatzi has been sporting a diamond ring on her engagement finger in recent months.
Kyrgios in May wrote on Instagram: Kyrgios on Saturday finally confirmed the news when telling his followers the wedding will be happening “very soon”. The post included a “heart” emoji and a “diamond ring” emoji.
He also has her first name tattooed on his left thigh.
Kyrgios also recently commented on a photo Hatzi posted by writing: “I can’t wait to life with you”.
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