Nick Kyrgios has poured a chunk of his tennis fortune into Australian basketball team South East Melbourne Phoenix, already planning for a future beyond his tennis career.
The 27-year-old, who was runner-up to Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon last year, said he could even get involved on the playing side with the Phoenix if he feels able.
That might be wishful thinking on behalf of the long-time basketball fan, who still has ambitions left in tennis, including the hope he will be a serious trophy contender at the Australian Open over the coming fortnight.
Kyrgios joins Los Angeles Clippers star John Wall and a string of former NBA players in investing in the Phoenix, and he said on Thursday: "This is a big opportunity. Everyone knows my basketball roots, so to be a part of the NBL, it's a massive move for me in my career.
"I feel I've got some great relationships within that team already. I'm one of the tennis players that doesn't travel as often. I'm looking forward to being in Australia a bit more."
He said he would be "quite hands on", and it remains to be seen whether he does travel less in tennis, cutting down his tour commitments further. Of players ranked in the ATP top 25 – Kyrgios is number 21 – nobody has played fewer tournaments in the last year than the 14 events Kyrgios has entered.
"I've got a lot of things happening at the moment and this is one of the biggest," Kyrgios added. "My tennis career's not going to last forever. I've been on tour now for nine, 10 years and I feel I'm building that platform to have these experiences and relationships, so I've got to use it while I can.
"I'll do anything for the team. I'd get out there, rebound, play with them. If my body's up to it, I'll get out there, 100 per cent."
Last January saw Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis roar to doubles glory in Melbourne, but this time around Kyrgios is making the singles a clear priority.
He will face Russian Roman Safiullin in round one, after the draw was revealed on Thursday. Novak Djokovic is a potential quarter-final opponent.
"I'm one of the best players in the world, so I'm definitely going into the Australian Open, or any tournament, with confidence," Kyrgios said. "I've proven I can go deep in a grand slam, and with the support of the Phoenix and my team, and Australia on my back, hopefully it's going to be a good couple of weeks.
"It's a bit different for me, being one of the favourites. Usually I'm a dark horse.
"This is the first time I've gone into a slam feeling I'm one of the guys that can really take the trophy and knock on the door. Usually I've got a nothing-to-lose [attitude], just putting on a show, but I've got to really find that balance in the next two weeks.
"Obviously I'm capable, but there's so many more players in the draw who are capable as well."
Swiatek opens Olympic bid with straight-sets win over Begu
Iga Swiatek got her bid for Olympic gold up and running with a straight-sets victory over Irina-Camelia Begu in Paris.
The world number one is the firm favourite to win gold at Roland-Garros, where she has won four editions of the French Open, including the last three in a row.
Swiatek and Begu traded breaks at the outset of their clash on Court Philippe-Chatrier, but the Pole continued to put her opponent under pressure when receiving and back-to-back breaks took the opener away from Begu.
The second set was more of a slog for Swiatek and a break in the seventh game had Begu serving to level things up, but Swiatek found a second wind to break back and only dropped one further point from there, winning 6-2 7-5.
Swiatek will face Argentina's Nadia Podoroska or home favourite Diane Parry in the second round, with the likes of Danielle Collins, Jessica Pegula, Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber also on her side of the draw.
On the other side of the bracket, Jasmine Paolini – the runner-up at both the French Open and Wimbledon this year – advanced with a 7-5 6-3 win over Ana Bogdan.
Data Debrief: Twenty-two and counting for Swiatek
Swiatek has now won a remarkable 22 successive matches on the courts of Roland-Garros, last losing at the venue to Maria Sakkari in the 2021 French Open quarter-finals.
In all clay-court tournaments, she has won her last 20 matches, also capturing titles in Madrid and Rome earlier this year.
Westbrook joins Denver Nuggets on two-year contract
Russell Westbrook has joined the Denver Nuggets on a two-year contract containing a player option for 2025-26.
Earlier this month, Westbrook was traded from the Los Angeles Clippers to the Utah Jazz, who reached a contract buyout agreement with the point guard.
Westbrook had long been expected to move on to Denver, with Utah receiving a series of second-round draft picks from the Clippers to facilitate the move.
On Friday, Westbrook was in Denver to put pen to paper on his deal, with his agent Jeff Schwartz confirming the length and terms of his contract to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
The team subsequently announced the arrival of the 35-year-old on social media, with the Nuggets becoming his sixth team in the last seven years.
Westbrook will earn an estimated $6.8million with the Nuggets, who lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in last season's Western Conference semifinals.
In 2023-24 for the Clippers, he averaged career lows of 11.1 points and 4.5 assists with 5 boards.
He came off the bench in 57 of the 68 games he played, shooting 27.3 per cent from 3-point range – the second-lowest mark among the 226 players with at least 150 attempts from beyond the arc.
However, Denver believe the 2016-17 NBA MVP can still provide depth and ease the load on reigning MVP Nikola Jokic, who was named the league's best player for a third time in 2023-24.
Djokovic thrilled by prospect of 'one last dance' with Nadal
Novak Djokovic is thrilled by the prospect of meeting Rafael Nadal for "one last dance" at the Paris Olympics, if the Spaniard overcomes an injury setback to feature at Roland-Garros.
Thursday's men's singles draw saw Djokovic paired with Australia's Matthew Ebden in the first round, with Nadal taking on Marton Fucsovics.
The legendary duo – who have won 46 grand slam singles titles between them – will meet in the second round if they both advance through their openers this weekend.
Djokovic and Nadal have previously faced off on 59 occasions, with the Serbian winning 30 of those contests but losing four of the last six, the most recent being a Nadal victory in four sets in the 2022 French Open quarter-finals.
Nadal's participation at the Games was thrown into doubt when his coach Carlos Moya said he had suffered a "setback" on Thursday and required 48 hours of rest.
If Nadal – who is widely expected to retire later this year – does make the tournament, Djokovic is looking forward to the prospect of facing him for a 60th time.
"Obviously he hasn't played much. His ranking dropped, so there was always going to be that possibility of me meeting him in an early round and there we go," Djokovic said.
"It's going to be a spectacle, definitely, if we get to meet. We will spread some fireworks on the court, like the good old times.
"I hope we get to meet because it will probably be one last dance for the both of us."
Djokovic is set to appear at his fifth Olympics in the French capital, the joint-most by any male player since the sport returned to the Games in 1988 (with Yen Hsun Lu).
He is the player with the most matches played (19) and joint-most matches won (13, level with Roger Federer) at the Olympics since 1988.
However, his best result at the Games remains a Bronze medal at Beijing 2008, when he was beaten by eventual gold medallist Nadal in the semi-finals.
Djokovic lost the bronze medal match to Pablo Carreno Busta at the delayed Tokyo Games three years ago, also losing to Juan Martin del Potro at both London 2012 and Rio 2016.
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