Nick Kyrgios branded the Mexican Open crowd “disrespectful” after being booed off the court in Acapulco. The Australian was the defending champion but lasted only a set of his first-round match against France’s Ugo Humbert, which he lost 6-3, before retiring with a wrist injury.
In an expletive-laden press conference, Kyrgios said: “I’m not healthy. I tried to come here, I tried to play. I’ve been doing media here, and helping out. I tried to play, I tried to give the fans a little bit of tennis. And then they’re disrespectful.”
It was Kyrgios’s first match since his entertaining run at the Australian Open, which saw him lose in the fourth round to Rafael Nadal after getting the public on his side with his efforts to raise money for bushfire relief.
However Kyrgios’s body has proved fragile once again, with the 24-year-old pulling out of tournaments in New York and Delray Beach before opting to try and retain his title in Acapulco.
Kyrgios, who produced one of the best weeks of his career in Mexico last year, said: “My wrist is just not ready to play. I could feel it on every backhand. It’s unfortunate after the memories I had last year. It’s tough for me.”
Top seed Nadal, who lost to Kyrgios in the second round 12 months ago, made light work of Pablo Andújar in a 6-3, 6-2 victory, while the second seed Alexander Zverev saw off Jason Jung 7-6 (6), 6-1.