Nick Kyrgios was not on the winning side though he did entertain the fans over a towel dispute at the US Open 2021
Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios got a tough opening round at the 2021 US Open against 18 seed Roberto Bautista Agut.
That was bad enough for the Aussie but more was to come regarding a couple of bizarre rants aimed at the umpire and his coaching team.
Kyrgios is known for having quite a temper in all this, and was upset with the new Covid-19 towel protocols.
The protocols suggested that the towels had to be placed in certain designated spots and the players would have to retrieve them, and not have others hand it over to them.
Kyrgios wasn’t happy with all the extra movement taking place and slammed the decision (h/t Fox Sports):
“I don’t want to walk side to side,” he told umpire Carlos Bernardes.
“I still have to get it. Like, it’s f**king 70 degrees out here, bro. I don’t want to walk back and forth, back and forth. How many extra steps is that? That’s so stupid.”
The umpire told him that this was part of the game, and Kyrgios then exploded bringing up the cheating accusations levelled by Andy Murray against Stefanos Tsitsipas:
“It’s not part of the game. So texting someone is part of game, too. Taking 20 minutes bathroom break is part of the game, yes? That’s part of the game, too. Everything is part of the game. I need to take a s**t – ah, part of the game. F**king stupid, man.”
The above comments were made by Kyrgios after Murray had accused his Greek rival of taking long bathroom breaks and calling it gamesmanship.
Tsitsipas was also told that he was cheating by Murray several times after the match, and the Scot added that he had lost respect for his rival after exiting the tournament.
However, Kyrgios was peeved at the situation he was facing. He lost the match in straight sets with barely a whimper, and had a go at his coaching team as well.
“You’re the only two in here wearing a mask. I’m f**king looking at you and all I see is a mask. I can’t even understand what you’re saying,” he said.
“How the f**k am I supposed to understand what you’re both saying when I’m down that end and you’re wearing a f**king mask. Like, use your brain.”
This isn’t the first time Kyrgios has attacked the umpire and it won’t be the last. The Aussie did have some great moments in the match but it wasn’t enough for him to get the win.
He lost the match 6-3, 6-4 and 6-0 while Agut picked up an impressive win and can now look forward to the second round.
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