Tennis: Nick Kyrgios makes political statement with Trump shirt

Nick Kyrgios wearing his Donald Trump shirt. Photo / Twitter

Nick Kyrgios finally had people talking about his tennis, at least for a few minutes.

The 21-year-old was impressive in his victory over Rafael Nadal in the Fast4 exhibition match in Sydney on Monday evening - giving local fans renewed optimism that he can be among the contenders at next week's Australian Open.

There was no debate about Kyrgios' strong showing against the Spanish legend, but his choice of attire for the post-match press conference certainly divided opinion.

The young Australian sported an anti-Donald Trump T-shirt for his chat with the media.

New York Times tennis writer Ben Rothenberg published a photo of Kyrgios in the statement-making shirt on Twitter, revealing the look to the world.

The shirt shows a defaced picture of US President elect, Trump, with devil horns, crossed out eyes and a wide smile crudely drawn over the top. Below the picture is a slogan that ensures the wearer makes it clear they are not a fan of the billionaire, stating simple, "F*** Donald Trump."

After beating Rafa Nadal, Nick Kyrgios takes aim at Donald Trump with expletive-laden shirt, via @MichaelChammas https://t.co/2ny3Y9SiQE pic.twitter.com/lIie90WZWn

— SMH Sport (@SMHsport) January 9, 2017

Its unlikely Kyrgios' sponsors Nike would be pleased with his choice of apparel, given he is paid handsomely to sport their brand on the court.

Fairfax reported Kyrgios donned the shirt after his laundry failed to arrive, leaving him with few options in his kit bag, although the Canberra product returned to watch Australian teammate Bernard Tomic later in the evening in a Nike shirt.

Kyrgios offered little when asked about the meaning behind the Trump outfit. "It's pretty (self) explanatory," Kyrgios said.

The Aussie star has enjoyed a love-hate relationship with local fans, given his questionable behaviour at times on-court, and opinion on his latest move was again divided on social media.

Krygios will be hoping his tennis does the talking at Melbourne Park, when the first Grand Slam of the year begins. The win over Nadal has filled the young gun with confidence, despite ongoing injury concerns.

"Even though it was Fast4, you still take confidence out of how you were hitting the ball, the way you're serving, the way you're returning," Kyrgios said. "I thought I did everything pretty well. It was pretty tough. I though the level was high.

"If I can't play Fast4, then it's not going to be looking great for a best-of- five at a grand slam," Kyrgios said.

"But I'm really happy with how it pulled up. The level was really, really good. "I've just got to do all the right things: ice it now and look after it and just take extreme caution."

Kyrgios is a known basketball fan and revealed he sustained a knee injury shooting hoops, saying that passion has been put on hold while he concentrates on the Australian Open.

"I'm not allowed to," Kyrgios said. "Obviously I want to play but my team has told me: 'Nick, you've got a couple of pretty big couple of weeks now coming up.' I can play afterwards so I'm leaving it for a little bit."

Like him or not, Nick Kyrgios always manages to get people talking.