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Nick Kyrgios comes out in support of having just 16 seeds at Grand Slams

Utkarsh Bhatla
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Grand Slam Tennis is most sought after by fans and players alike in every Tennis calendar year. The biggest players on the planet coming together for celebrating the sport, dishing out competitive Tennis for all the onlookers and taking the game a notch higher every time they step on court.

The fact that almost all top players contest in every grand slam is what makes it so interesting(along with all the history that goes with it). But often it is seen that the top seeds cruise through the opening rounds, especially in the ATP tour.

In order to make the first week interesting as well, matching up big stars against each other, suggestions about introducing a 16 seed format at Grand Slams have surfaced.

Now, what that would do is that it could pip the players who are in the 16-32 bracket with one of the top seeds in the first round itself, drawing more crowds to the first round and making the Grand Slams more interesting in the first week.

The move though, can backfire big time as well.

If the lower ranked players come through in the first week, the second week could have lesser big names, causing a drop in the viewership.

Nick Kyrgios though has come out in support of the 16 seed format, as he feels it would bring in more excitement into the Grand Slams.

“I love it. I think it’s a great idea. I think it will make the first week a lot more exciting”. Kyrgios said.

“And especially the big guys may not get such a cruisy draw. You know, us guys around the 20 to 30 mark, we could potentially play an unbelievably tough first couple matches and play so many sets, and then just breeze through the draw playing guys around 100 to 70 and not even being pushed to four sets.”

“I love it. I think it gives them…there’s not so much protection. You could have, for instance, me against Novak first round and who knows?” Kyrgios added.

Kyrgios was then asked if he was okay with the prospect of having a first round Grand Slam match with the 12 time Grand Slam champion, Novak Djokovic.

“100 percent. I haven’t lost to him before.” Kyrgios said.

While the proposal hasn’t been accepted as of now, but it sure would send waves across the Tennis circuit, as the move could prove to be beneficial as well as detrimental for the younger generation.

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