Kyrgios says he will help new IPTL team-mate Wawrinka despite past troubles

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  • The two stars on the ATP World Tour have not talked to each other since August.

    Nick Kyrgios says he’ll do everything he can to help Stan Wawrinka guide their Singapore Slammers squad to the IPTL title in the closing leg in Singapore, choosing to leave their controversial history in the past.

    Kyrgios, who had insulted Wawrinka on court during a match in Montreal last August and was fined and given a suspended ban for it, has the Swiss as a surprise team-mate in Singapore (December 18-20). 

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    Wawrinka, the World No.4, was brought in as a late replacement for Novak Djokovic who pulled out of the event earlier this month.  

    The Slammers strengthened their hold on the second position in the IPTL standings after an impressive 27-16 win over leaders, the Indian Aces, in the last day of action in Dubai on Wednesday thanks to an in-form Andy Murray. 

    They’re poised to face the Aces in the final on December 20 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium and Kyrgios says all focus will be on capturing the IPTL trophy. 

    “We haven’t obviously talked at all,” Kyrgios said when asked about Wawrinka. 

    “I think whatever has happened has happened. I think we’ve got one goal, he’s a great player and he’s obviously going to be the main guy for our team, so I’m going to do everything I can, whether that’s me being on the bench, you know doing whatever I can to warm him up or whatever. Here, I think we all want to win and hopefully we can put everything aside and just do that.”

    Kyrgios joked on court that it’s been “The Andy Murray Show” in Dubai these past three days and it is an apt description of the Scot’s contribution to his team. Murray beat the UAE Royals’ Roger Federer on Tuesday night and followed that up with wins in both doubles and singles against the Aces on Wednesday.

    Murray has been a supporter of the IPTL as a concept since the start and feels the league, now in its second season, has the potential to last for a long time.

    “I was speaking to my team yesterday who were watching on the side, they all think it could be great,” Murray told Sport360. 

    “But you just never know. If I was a tennis fan, I would enjoy to come along and sit and watch that. I watched a few of the matches in the first week at home on TV because it’s fun, you get to see the best players and the matches are very quick. 

    “I also think the level has been better and the players want to win more. To see the players in this sort of competitive environment but enjoying themselves and laughing and joking around and having a good time too. I think it’s nice for people to see because all the time when we’re playing matches everyone is so serious and sometimes getting upset and angry. 

    “But here, you have the team, you sit down, and when you have someone like (Carlos) Moya next to you, he’s a great player, he’s able to talk to you, he can help calm you down. I think it’s a great idea, it’s worked well so far and I hope that it stays around for a long time because people who aren’t necessarily fans of tennis may enjoy this form of tennis more than what they see the rest of the year. 

    “That’s why I think Davis Cup as well because if you don’t like tennis normally, or like watching Wimbledon, the Davis Cup is totally different. It’s the best atmosphere that you play in during the year, when we played all four of the ties I didn’t play in an atmosphere like that the rest of the year, so it’s good.”

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