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Kyrgios pulls out of Estoril to attend grandfather's funeral

Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios will not take part in his first clay-court event of the season after announcing he would return to Australia to attend his grandfather's funeral.

Kyrgios's 'papou' died of cancer earlier this week.

"It's no secret that Estoril has been a very special stop for me on the ATP World Tour, so the decision was a hard one," Kyrgios said.

"But my family is so important to me and I feel I need to be around my loved ones at this time as well as pay my respects to my Papou, who I loved very much."

Kyrgios remains at No.16 in the world rankings after a stellar period that saw his form increase markedly from his second-round exit at the Australian Open.

He reached three semi-finals and a quarter-final in February and March, defeating Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev twice each and putting up a strong fight against Roger Federer in Miami.

He then went on to contribute heavily to Australia's Davis Cup quarter-final win over the USA, defeating Sam Querrey and John Isner in straight sets.