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Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis have been voted the Fans' Favorite Doubles team of the year. However, a section of tennis fans have expressed their displeasure and slammed the ATP for promoting Kyrgios, who is currently facing domestic abuse charges.
The Australian pair kicked off the season by winning their maiden Grand Slam doubles title at the Australian Open. They lost to Poland's Hubert Hurkacz and America's John Isner in the semifinals of the Miami Open before winning the ATP 250 Atlanta Open in August.
Long-time friends Kyrgios and Kokkinakis also surprised themselves by qualifying for the 2022 ATP Finals, though they bowed out in the round-robin stage. Before the year-end championships began in November, Kyrgios stated that he never imagined reaching the ATP Finals after having played so few tournaments.
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"Me and Thanasi never thought we were going to be here at the end-of-the-year finals. We always thought we could do some good things together, but to put a year consistently like this, we played maybe six or seven events or something. So, yeah, the experience has been cool," Kyrgios said.
Although the Australian duo has won the fan-favorite award, some fans cannot believe that people have voted for a player who is under trial for domestic abuse. A couple of them even stated that either Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury or Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski should have been given the honors.
"ATP @atptour is not only trying to keep the abuse under the rug but they even give awards to the abuser! ATP is supporting violence and domestic abusers! ATP sucks," a fan tweeted.
"We knew these would get bumpy and debated but ATP really chose war and aimed for the jugular at the very first award didn't they?" a user posted.
"Imagine voting for them when you could've voted for Ramsbury or Koolski or literally anyone else?? some of you have no taste," another tweet read.
Here are a few more reactions:
"My girlfriend wants to see Paris" - Nick Kyrgios to play French Open after 6 years
Speaking to the press in Saudi Arabia, where he participated in the Diriyah Tennis Cup exhibition tournament, Nick Kyrgios revealed that he will play in the 2023 French Open since his girlfriend Costeen Hatzi is yet to see Paris.
"Yes, I'm playing the French Open," Nick Kyrgios said. "My girlfriend wants to see Paris, so why not? It will be good for me to earn some more money. I've played well on clay, I've beaten Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka, I've played a final on clay [Estoril 2015] but usually at that time of year, I like spending time at home. Because if I don't, then I'm traveling for eight months a year, it's too much. But she hasn't seen Paris, so why not?"
Last year, the 27-year-old Australian called for the removal of the French Open from the calendar, dubbing it "the worst Grand Slam."
