Nick Kyrgios joins Kooyong Classic field after the ATP Cup
Staged at the famous Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club, the Kooyong Classic started in 1988 when the Australian Open moved to Melbourne Park, gathering the world's greatest players ahead of the first Major of the season. Standing as one of few exhibition events that survived the formation of the ATP Tour in 1990, Kooyong has always offered exciting matches and a notable list of champions that includes Pat Cash, Thomas Muster, Michael Chang, Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, Lleyton Hewitt and others. From 2017, WTA players have started to visiting Kooyong as well, with Sorana Cirstea, Belinda Bencic, Andrea Petkovic, Eugenie Bouchard and Amanda Anisimova all feeling the atmosphere of the historic stadium.
The next year's edition will take place between January 14-16 and the organizers have already confirmed former Major champions Maria Sharapova and Caroline Wozniacki as the leading figures. Besides them, Grigor Dimitrov, Marin Cilic and Milos Raonic are all heading to Kooyong for the last matches ahead of the Australian Open, together with Richard Gasquet, Borna Coric and Soonwoo Kwon. The latest confirmed player is probably the most anticipated one for the crowd at Kooyong, with Nick Kyrgios joining the action for the second year in a row, losing to Bernard Tomic this January in straight sets.
Nick will join Alex de Minaur, John Millman, John Peers and Chris Guccione at the ATP Cup in Brisbane before heading to Melbourne, hoping to leave a shoulder injury behind him and shape up his game ahead of the Australian Open. Nick claimed two ATP 500 titles in 2019 but the other results were not that good, alongside the terrible on-court behavior that almost earned a suspension from the competition for him.
"I'm delighted Nick has chosen to play Kooyong again and hopefully it acts as the perfect tune-up for his AO campaign and sets him up for a massive 2020," Kooyong tournament director Peter Johnston said. "Between all the players committed, there are Grand Slam winners, two former number ones, three former number threes and over 60 ATP or WTA Title so the fans are in for some pretty good tennis."
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/34SSJIp
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