Canberra tennis star Nick Kyrgios has broken his silence on revelations he faces an assault charge, admitting he is "only human" and signalling a desire to give his side of the story that made it hard to focus on his Wimbledon "mission".
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The Canberra Times revealed on Tuesday night that the world no.40 had been summonsed to face the ACT Magistrates Court to answer a common assault charge after he allegedly grabbed former girlfriend Chiara Passari last December.
Kyrgios addressed the story and the intense international media coverage that followed after booking a Wimbledon semi finals showdown with Rafael Nadal by beating Cristian Garin in straight sets.
"Obviously, seeing [the coverage], I'm only human," the 27-year-old told reporters on Thursday morning after his 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 quarter final triumph.
"Obviously, I read about it and obviously everyone else was asking questions. It was hard.
"It was hard to kind of just focus on kind of the mission at hand, [which] was quarter finals of Wimbledon today. I know deep down that's what I was prepared for.
"It didn't really affect my preparation at all. I knew I stayed true to myself and give my best performance today."
Kyrgios indicated he wished to speak publicly about his side of the story.
But he declined to go into detail, noting he had been warned against doing so.
"Obviously, I have a lot of thoughts, a lot of things I want to say, kind of my side about it," Kyrgios said after reaching his first grand slam singles semi final.
"Obviously, I've been advised by my lawyers that I'm unable to say anything at this time.
"Look, I understand everyone wants to kind of ask about it and all that, but I can't give you too much on that right now."
A moderator later had to interject in the post-match press conference after a reporter raised the subject again, frustrating Kyrgios by asking about when the tennis star became aware of the assault allegation and the timing of the summons.
"Do you want me to sound like a broken record?" Kyrgios fired back.
The reporter continued to ask for "an answer, if you can".
"I can't," Kyrgios said.
While Kyrgios is scheduled to face court on August 2, he may not appear in person that day because defendants issued a summons in the ACT are generally not required to attend the early stages of their cases if they are legally represented.
If convicted of common assault, he would face a maximum penalty of two years in jail.
"It's in the context of a domestic relationship," Kyrgios' barrister, Jason Moffett, told The Canberra Times of the allegation on Tuesday.
"The nature of the allegation is serious, and Mr Kyrgios takes the allegation very seriously."
Solicitor Pierre Johannessen added in a statement on Wednesday morning that Kyrgios was "committed to addressing any and all allegations".
Kyrgios will now take on Nadal, the most successful player in men's grand slam singles history, on Friday night as he chases a maiden appearance in a Wimbledon final.
