- Nick Kyrgios had a series of incidents in a wild, eventful, two-match day at the Fever-Tree Championships on Thursday.
- In Kyrgios’ first match, a win, he accused an umpire of throwing the match, mocked the umpire’s hat, then criticized himself for staying up until 3 a.m. to play video games.
- In Kyrgios’ second match, a straight-sets loss, he threw his racket out of the court, then made a vulgar comment to booing fans.
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It was a wild day for Nick Kyrgios at the Fever-Tree Championships on Thursday.
Kyrgios played two matches, beating Roberto Carballes Baena first in three sets, then losing to Felix Auger-Aliassime in his second match of the day.
In both, Kyrgios, renowned for his on-court antics, continued his explosive behavior.
Read more: Meet Nick Kyrgios, the 24-year-old bad boy of tennis whose talent and antics make him the most frustrating and compelling player in the sport
In the first match, upset over an umpire’s ruling on a ball, Kyrgios accused the umpire of rigging the match, using explicit language.
“Bro, you are taking the f—ing piss, mate?” Kyrgios said,according to The Guardian. “The ball was this far out, no joke. No joke. What are you doing? It’s so far long. What are you doing? Like, what are you actually doing up there? It was this far out. Bro, it’s taking the piss. I refuse to play.”
After getting a code violation, Kyrgios then mocked the umpire’s hat.
“Your hat looks ridiculous, also,” Kyrgios said. “It’s not even sunny.”
Here’s a video of Kyrgios’ interaction with the umpire (warning: language):
Later on in the match, nearing a win over Baena, Kyrgios hit a poor return that ended in a point for Baena. Kyrgios called himself lazy and chastised himself for playing video games until 3 a.m.
“So lazy, do something, so lazy you are,” Kyrgios said to himself, according to The Guardian. “You were playing FIFA until 3 a.m., what do you expect?”
Nonetheless, he won the match.
Hours later, however, his second match of the day didn’t go so well against Auger-Aliassime, the world No. 21.
Before the match, Kyrgios reassured fans that Auger-Aliassime would likely win.
Kyrgios lost in straight sets in a match where he continued his love of hitting tweeners, underhand serves, and even diving, perhaps unnecessarily,according to ATP.
After losing the match, Kyrgios exchanged a brief handshake with the umpire, then chucked his racket out of the court.
A fan also caught video of the incident.
According to tennis writer Ricky Dimon, Kyrgios also used vulgar language for some booing fans.
It’s been an up-and-down year for Kyrgios, who had an inspiring win at the Mexican Open but also lost his first match at the Australian Open, gotten ejected for throwing a chair at the Italian Open, and withdrawn from the French Open with an injury.
If Thursday was a tune-up for Wimbledon, Kyrgios doesn’t appear to be rounding into form for the next grand slam.
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