Nick Kyrgios' Laver Cup announcement thrills Frances Tiafoe, Jack Sock
After Nick Kyrgios revealed earlier today that he was returning to the Laver Cup this year, American players Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock expressed their excitement.
Kyrgios recently announced that he will join Tiafoe, Taylor Fritz, and Felix Auger-Aliassime in the John McEnroe-led Team World at the 2023 Laver Cup. The sixth edition of the tournament will be played from September 22 to 24 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada.
Apart from 2022, Kyrgios has been a part of the event on every occasion. He was exhilarated to announce his return this year as the World No. 26 took to social media and stated that he was looking forward to helping the team.
"Kid from Canberra REPRESENTING THE WORLD. Can’t wait to join the team and assisting in ANY way possible. LET'S GO….. this journey has been crazy," Kyrgios wrote on Instagram.
"Big moment in my career. We are here again," he wrote on his Instagram stories.
Tiafoe commented on Kyrgios' post and shared his enthusiasm.
"Man this hypes me up to another level," Tiafoe wrote.
Sock, meanwhile, responded with an emoji, suggesting that Kyrgios had his attention with the announcement. Sock has been a part of Team World on four out of the five previous occasions but is yet to decide on his participation this year.
"👀," Sock replied.
While Team World still has two spots to fill, Team Europe has four. Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev are the only two players so far to register themselves in Bjorn Borg's team. Team Europe won the first four editions. Team World, on the other hand, triumphed for the first time in 2022.
Nick Kyrgios revels in maintaining top-25 ranking amidst injury
Nick Kyrgios hasn't played a singles match in almost seven months. However, until last week, he was ranked No. 24 on the ATP leaderboard. The 27-year-old Australian reached his first Grand Slam final at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, where he lost to Novak Djokovic. Unfortunately, those ranking points did not count.
He slipped to No. 26 this week, but before that, celebrated the fact that he was able to remain in the top 25 without playing.
"Pound for pound," Kyrgios wrote on his Instagram stories.
The 2022 Japan Open (October) was the last time Kyrgios played a tour-level match, where he suffered a severe knee injury. Although he returned to participate in a few exhibition tournaments in December, the injury deteriorated further.
Having been considered a contender at the 2023 Australian Open, Kyrgios withdrew on the day the tournament kicked off. The 27-year-old was even seen using crutches after undergoing surgery, and the date of his return remains uncertain.