Nick Kyrgios says he lost motivation after grandfather's passing

06/02/2017

Nick Kyrgios has revealed that his grandfather's passing, in April, resulted in him losing motivation midway through the clay court season. The 22-year-old crashed out of the French Open, yesterday, after losing to big-serving South African Kevin Anderson 5-7, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 in the second round.

The Aussie was on the brink of tears while recalling his grandfather's, Christos Kyrgios, passing, after his battle with cancer, and Kyrgios had to cut short his clay court season to attend the funeral. The talented youngster said he lost the love for the game after his personal loss.

"After my grandpa's passing, I just lost a lot of motivation to do anything really," said Kyrgios after the defeat, reported AFP.

"It was tough back home. I can't talk about it, I can't."

During the game against Anderson, Kyrgios lost control of his emotions, not the first time in his career, as he completely demolished his racquet, again not for the first time. However, the 22-year-old insisted that it was the way he has been playing tennis all his life and that there was nothing unusual about it.

"I don't know if that's the best role model you want," he said candidly.

"But I'm not trying to show anybody my frustration. I just do it for myself. I've been doing it my whole career. It's just a habit now."