Nick Kyrgios charged with assault of girlfriend in Australia

Bengaluru, July 5: Temperamental Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios, who has entered the quarterfinals of the ongoing Wimbledon 2022, is in the eye of a storm after being asked to appear in a court for allegedly assaulting his former girlfriend.

Kyrgios had extended a perfect record in five-set Wimbledon encounters as he defeated Brandon Nakashima to make the last eight.

The outspoken Aussie has made plenty of headlines so far at Wimbledon, and had to battle hard against 20-year-old American Nakashima on Centre Court, two days after his ill-tempered clash with Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Wimbledon: Kyrgios extends perfect record in five-set ties as Aussie showman makes quarters

It was against this background that Australian media reported that he was charged with 'common assault' and summoned to appear before a court in Canberra next month.

Australian Capital Territory Policing, who did not name Kyrgios directly, confirmed one charge of common assault relating to an incident in December 2021.

A barrister representing the tennis player responded by saying Kyrgios "takes the allegation very seriously" but would not be making an immediate public comment.

His barrister, Jason Moffett, confirmed the charge.

"It's in the context of a domestic relationship," Moffett told Canberra Times. "The nature of the allegation is serious, and Mr Kyrgios takes the allegation very seriously.

"Given the matter is before the court - he doesn't have a comment at this stage, but in the fullness of time we'll issue a media release."

An ACT Policing spokesperson in Canberra said: "ACT Policing can confirm a 27-year-old Watson man is scheduled to face the ACT Magistrates Court on the 2nd of August in relation to one charge of common assault following an incident in December 2021."

Meanwhile, in Wimbledon 2022 also Kyrgios has been in the news for all reasons.

Earlier, Kyrgios labelled Tsitsipas "soft" and defended his on-court antics after the Greek called him a "bully" in the aftermath of their ill-tempered clash.

Kyrgios recovered from one set down to post an impressive 6-7 (2-7), 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (9-7) win over the fourth seed with a scintillating performance on No. 1 Court.

But the contest was not without controversy, with Kyrgios frustrating Tsitsipas by calling for him to be defaulted after the Greek narrowly missed a spectator when firing a ball into the crowd at the end of the second set.

The Australian then labelled the umpire a "disgrace" during an extraordinary outburst, and his antics seemed to get under the skin of Tsitsipas, who was deducted a point for sending another ball towards the spectators before appearing to hit a couple of shots directly at Kyrgios.

Wimbledon: Kyrgios hits out at 'soft' Tsitsipas after being labelled a 'bully' following controversial win

While Kyrgios praised his opponent - with whom he played doubles at Wimbledon three years ago, as "a hell of a player" in his post-match interview, neither player was in the mood for niceties in their respective press conferences.

First up was Tsitsipas, who accused Kyrgios of "constant bullying".

Kyrgios, who has now claimed four wins in five career meetings with Tsitsipas, responded to that criticism shortly thereafter, alleging the Greek was not popular in the locker room and saying his inability to handle such matches would hold him back.