haviour.That came after Tomic drew heavy criticism following his exit from the Madrid Open when, on match point against Fabio Fognini, he held the rac

Tennis Australia has backed Nick Kyrgios in the ongoing issue of his inclusion in the Olympic team. Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic were recently put on notice by Australian chef de mission Kitty Chiller for poor behaviour.That came after Tomic drew heavy criticism following his exit from the Madrid Open when, on match point against Fabio Fognini, he held the racquet by the strings and did not offer a return to the Italians serve. Kyrgios has himself been heavily criticised for behaviour and was given a suspended ban and fine for making inappropriate comments about Stan Wawrinkas girlfriend in 2014. Chef de Mission of the Australian Olympic Team Kitty Chiller has warned Tomic and Kyrgios However, Tennis Australia president Steve Healy believes Kyrgios has been unfairly linked to Tomic and should be recognised for his improved behaviour.Healy said in a statement: Since the disciplinary action taken against Nick last year, hes made a concerted effort to improve his performance and behaviour, and full credit to him.Its unfortunate that hes been included unfairly in recent discussions on player behaviour that have not involved him. Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic have courted controversy with their behaviour His performances this year have been markedly improved and its obvious hes showing more maturity. Only world No 1 Novak Djokovic has beaten more top-10 players than Nick this year.Nick deserves the opportunity to concentrate on his tennis without any additional distractions.Tennis Australia has until late June to nominate its team for Rio, and after world No 22 Tomics announcement that he will be unable to represent Australia, world No 21 Kyrgios would be the countrys highest-ranked player available for the Games. Also See: Murray into Rome semis Tomic opts out of Rio Olympics Taven Bryan Jaguars Jersey . With the short-handed Warriors needing help from someone -- anyone -- to stop a three-game skid, ONeal returned from right knee and groin injuries that had sidelined him for four games and put up season highs with 18 points and eight rebounds. It was just enough to help lift Golden State to a 102-101 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. Marqise Lee Womens Jersey . Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC failed to make the postseason while Montreal Impact fell at the first hurdle losing heavily to Houston Dynamo in the Eastern Conference Knockout Round. http://www.officialjacksonvillejaguarspro.com/Marqise-lee-jaguars-jersey/ . -- Anaheim Ducks captain and leading scorer Ryan Getzlaf has been scratched from Sunday nights game against the Vancouver Canucks because of an upper-body injury. Jalen Ramsey Youth Jersey . After dropping their final six games of December, the Wild opened the new calendar year with four consecutive wins. Following a loss to Colorado on Saturday, Minnesota rebounded the following night to blank Nashville 4-0, but then had the tables turned on them Tuesday. Custom Jacksonville Jaguars Jerseys . Each of Houstons starters scored in double figures as the Rockets improved to 2-0 against the Spurs this season, with both victories coming on the road. They also moved within 3 1/2 games of San Antonio (22-7) for the lead the Southwest Division. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes is back.The face of the Rio Olympics, Paes has shied away from the cameras since the opening ceremony. But he was back in view on Friday, bowing to Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, who arrived wearing a white kimono for a meeting with her Rio counterpart.Paes will hand over the Olympic flag to Kioke at Sundays closing ceremony, the moment eyes turn from South America to Asia, where the next three Winter and Summer Olympics will be held.Paes repeated his spirited defense of holding the Rio Games, saying the Olympics had been a catalyst for building a new subway-line extension, an express-bus system and a renovated port area. He cited a mix or private and public money to stage the games, arguing they were reasonably priced and would leave no white elephants.I think its an amazing legacy for Rio that people will have for many years, Paes said.Credited by the International Olympic Committee for pushing preparations, Paes has often tried to lower expectations about Rios Olympics, which have been plagued by empty seats and organization problems.He did it again with Koike, saying Tokyo is a much more ddeveloped city than Rio.ddddddddddddIf you want to be fair to Rio, you cannot compare us to Tokyo, to Chicago to Madrid, Paes said, citing cities that were beaten out by Rio in 2009 when the IOC chose its 2016 host. These are cities that have much better infrastructure. They come from developed countries. You have to compare Rio to Rio.Paes said the shift to Tokyo should please the IOC, which is coming off difficult games in Sochi, Russia, and Rio de Janeiro.We come from a tropical experience, the Latin ways of Brazil, which sometimes made the IOC members a little bit crazy, Paes said.Paes also noted Koikes kimono, a traditional garment that is used for important ceremonial moments.The great Japanese hospitality is represented by the kimono, Kioke explained. Thats why Im wearing one.Paes replied: The next time I meet her in Tokyo, Im going to wear a kimono, he said. I love it.---Stephen Wade on Twitter: http://twitter.com/StephenWadeAP .His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/stephen-wade ' ' '