Nick Kyrgios is “a good guy who puts on a good show”, his Wimbledon mixed doubles partner said on Friday.
The combustible Australian star crashed out of Wimbledon at the hands of two-time champion Rafael Nadal in a stormy second round duel on Thursday. He was warned for poor sportsmanship, described the umpire as “a disgrace” and admitted he deliberately tried to hit Nadal with a blistering forehand.
But Desirae Krawczyk, who will play mixed doubles with the 24-year-old Kyrgios later on Friday, leapt to his defence. “He is his own character, he puts on a good show and I think he’s a good guy,” said the 25-year-old American.
“He’s a great player, he has talent, he’s got the skills and everything. I really don’t care too much about what he says.”
Krawcyzk, the daughter of a Polish father and Filipina mother, admitted her partnership with Kyrgios came out of the blue. “I was in another tournament and he messaged me. He said he had a random question, did I want to play mixed?,” she said. “I said, ‘sure, why not’.”
“We had seen each other around at tournaments. We had only said ‘hi’ and ‘hey’ but we have mutual friends. He’s never really talked to me but I thought it will be fun, mixed is always fun and it only happens four times a year, so it will be good.”
