Nick Kyrgios has defended Bernard Tomic for his racquet-handle return against Fabio Fognini in Madrid.
Kyrgios and Tomic have frequently been criticized for their on-court behavior. Though they were previously known to get along well off the court, Tomic recently criticized Kyrgios for not playing Australia's Davis Cup quarterfinal tie against the United States.
Tomic invited further scrutiny this week by retiring eight minutes into his match in Rome.
Speaking to journalists in Rome about the retirement, Kyrgios indicated that his relationship with Tomic may have cooled a bit, but he didn’t speak badly of his countryman.
"I haven't really been hanging out with Bernard, or speak[ing] to him too much,” the 21-year-old said. “I don't really know what his injury was or what was going on. I'm sure something is not right. You know, he doesn't obviously want to push it, I think, a couple weeks out from the French [Open]. I mean, that's the main target, and obviously Wimbledon following after.
"Whatever it is, I'm sure he just wants to get healthy and obviously get ready for two major tournaments coming."
As for Tomic not properly attempting a return on match point the week before, Kyrgios—who was accused of tanking a game at Wimbledon a year ago—gave the 23-year-old the benefit of the doubt.
"I mean, it's not easy playing Fabio on clay," said Kyrgios. "It's Bernard's least preferred surface. I'm sure he competed nearly every other point in the match. I don't really know what he was doing, but that one point he gets scorched for when he probably tried his heart out the rest of the match."
As for suggestions by Australian Olympic officials that he and Tomic might not be invited to play at the Games, Kyrgios said, "If you don't want two of the best players in Australia to represent your country, so be it."
No. 20 Kyrgios and No. 22 Tomic are the two highest-ranked Australian singles players.