Summary Kyrgios will seek to have an assault charge against him dismissed on mental health grounds.
SYDNEY (AFP) - Tennis superstar Nick Kyrgios will seek to have an assault charge against him dismissed on mental health grounds, Australian media reported Tuesday.
Kyrgios s lawyer appeared for him at a hearing in Canberra magistrates court, where the Australian player faces a charge of common assault.
The 27-year-old Wimbledon finalist, who was not required to appear for the largely administrative hearing, is in Tokyo to take part in the Japan Open.
His lawyer, Michael Kukulies-Smith, sought an adjournment to allow time for a mental health assessment to be carried out, according to media including public broadcaster ABC and the Sydney Morning Herald.
Kukulies-Smith said his client s mental health issues were well known and he would seek to have the charge dismissed at a later date, they said.
The world number 20, at his first tournament since losing in the quarter-finals of the US Open last month, said earlier on Monday he had been dealing with the case "for months" and was taking it "day by day".
"There s only so much I can control and I m taking all the steps and dealing with that off the court," Kyrgios, one of the most polarising figures in tennis, told reporters in Tokyo.
"I can only do what I can and I m here in Tokyo and just trying to play some good tennis, continue that momentum and just try to do my job -- and that s play tennis, play it well. That s it."
Kyrgios is likely to appear in person when the hearing returns to court.
The next hearing on the matter is scheduled for February 3.
