Nick Kyrgios says he will embrace playing 'villain' role at Wimbledon ahead of first round match against Paul Jubb

Nick Kyrgios says he will embrace being the «villain» when he faces British wild card Paul Jubb in the Wimbledon first round on Tuesday. Australian Kyrgios has been in good form heading into the Grand Slam, winning seven out of his nine matches on grass this year with semi-final runs at Stuttgart and Halle before he was forced to withdraw in Mallorca earlier this week due to a minor abdominal strain. Ad/> Should Kyrgios beat Brit Paul Jubb in the first round, he could face Croatian 26th seed Filip Krajinovic in the second and then Stefanos Tsitsipas in the third.

The 27-year-old could not meet Rafael Nadal until the semi-finals or defending champion Novak Djokovic until the final. WimbledonKyrgios 'a legit contender' to win Wimbledon — KokkinakisYESTERDAY AT 10:43 Kyrgios says he is going to enjoy not having the full support of the crowd when he plays Jubb. «I feel like I can put myself in his [Jubb's] shoes very well,» Kyrgios told reporters.

«I was once that kid that got a wild card at the Australian Open — it felt really good just to be around, soak it all in, the media, the fans, everything, the hype. »I've got to ride the waves emotionally out there because the crowd is obviously going to be behind the local. «I'm used to wearing that kind of black hat, the villain-type role.

I'm going to embrace it.» Kyrgios also says he disagrees with Russian and Belarusian players being banned from competing at Wimbledon this year. «My honest opinion, I don't think it was a good idea to ban the Russian players to play,» the world No 45 said. «As a competitor and someone that wants to go up against them, I'm disappointed they're not here.

It's weird not seeing [Daniil] Medvedev here. We all know what he's capable of. »It's done