John Millman urges Nick Kyrgios to ignore Amelie Mauresmo's calls and skip 2023 French Open

Australian tennis veteran John Millman has urged compatriot Nick Kyrgios to ignore Roland Garros tournament director Amelie Mauresmo's calls and skip the 2023 French Open.

Kyrgios has not been in action on the ATP tour since October last year. His last tour-level match was at the 2022 Japan Open, where he suffered a severe knee injury.

Although the Australian tennis star returned to participate in a few exhibition tournaments in December, he didn't fully recover from his injury. Kyrgios underwent knee surgery in January, after withdrawing from the Australian Open, and is yet to confirm his participation in any 2023 tournament.

Kyrgios' compatriot Millman believes that the 28-year-old is very close to making his comeback. But with speculation mounting as to when and where he will be seen in action once again, Millman urged Kyrgios to resist all urges to take part in the French Open, which gets underway on May 28.

In his column for news.com.au, Millman stated that French Open director Mauresmo would surely enjoy having the 2022 Wimbledon finalist make a return to tennis at her tournament.

"I’m sure there are many Tournament Directors that would love that return come at their tournament, none more so than Amelie Mauresmo at the French Open," he wrote.

With Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic's participation in doubt, Millman claimed that the claycourt Grand Slam would be looking to build the hype this year around a comeback player like Kyrgios.

"A box office player making his return to play is exactly what Mauresmo and her team needs. The question is should Nick answer her calls? Nick proved last year when making the final of Wimbledon that he can win Grand Slams. I see no reason why he can’t win Wimbledon, Australian Open or the US Open in the next eight months," the 33-year-old wrote.

Millman also questioned Kyrgios' success on clay and suggested that he would be better off sitting out of the French Open.

"But for me, there are question marks concerning the amount of success he can have on the clay courts of the French Open," Millman continued. "To add to this the biggest weapon on tour, the Kyrgios serve, is much less devastating on this heavier surface where the serve is more easily neutralised."

The 224-ranked Australian then urged his compatriot again to skip the Roland Garros tournament and "put all his chips on the table" to try and win Wimbledon instead.

"Nick will be wanting matches before Wimbledon and Roland Garros could provide him with these, but I can’t help but feel he’s good enough to once again do what he’s done so many times in his career - put all his chips on the table, skip the clay and go all in for the grass. Mauresmo would love the Kyrgios show in Paris, but if I were Nick I’d be letting her calls go to voicemail," he said.

Incidentally, Nick Kyrgios had assured fans in December that he would be traveling to Paris to take part in the Clay Major.

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Nick Kyrgios set to face Holger Rune in an exhibition match in Copenhagen

Nick Kyrgios could return to action at an exhibition event in May.

Nick Kyrgios is set to take on Holger Rune at an exhibition event in Copenhagen this month. That would mark his return to action, albeit not in a competitive setting.

Kyrgios and Rune will face off in the Energi Danmark Champions Battle at the Royal Arena in Copenhagen on May 24. The match is scheduled to take place just four days before the French Open gets underway.

The exhibition match will be the first time Nick Kyrgios faces the Dane on the court. The two have had no matches against each other on the ATP Tour thus far.