Nick Kyrgios returns to the court at Wimbledon today as he prepares to face American Brandon Nakashima in the round of 16. He has been in good form in recent tournaments, but has also come under fire for his typically outspoken nature during matches. Renowned for his rants at umpires, on occasions he even falls out with his opponents, including his recent match against Stefanos Tsitsipas. Michael Venus – who lost with partner Tim Puetz to Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis in their quarter-final clash at the Australian Open earlier this year – had very little to say about his opponent.
The fallout came after Kyrgios encouraged fans to jeer between serves, angering Venus.
After the match, Venus said: “On the maturity side, you see why he’s never fulfilled his potential and probably never will.
“His maturity level, it’s probably being generous to [say it’s] about a 10-year-old. It’s at about that level.
“The amount of messages I got from people – an extreme amount.
“Way, way more than I’ve ever had, but then a lot of messages from people saying how embarrassed they were with the crowd’s behaviour, and they’re sorry, it shouldn’t have been like that.
“They’ll always be his supporters and he’ll spin it in a way that helps him but, at the end of the day, he’s an absolute knob.
“It felt like a circus out there, and not really a tennis match.
“Between serves, geeing the crowd up and getting them to cheer. I don’t think that’s really on. If it’s on the other foot, old mate [Kyrgios] would have flipped his lid.”
Despite the gamesmanship, Kyrgios was defended by his compatriot John Peers, also a tennis player.
Peers said: “It’s what we want to see at Davis Cup ties. It’s what the whole, old, home-and-away system brought. You guys are just seeing a little glimpse of it now, at grand slams.
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“That’s what Davis Cup ties used to be like.
“It’s fantastic what they’re doing. They’re playing some great tennis, and getting the crowd involved. They’ve got a new lease of life to bring a new crowd in, which is fantastic for the game.
“It’s great for Australian tennis to see them put (doubles) in that magnitude and put on that sort of level. It’s great.”
It would appear that Kyrgios has not altered his controversial approach going into Wimbledon this year – last week, he clashed with opponent Tsitsipas in a match where the players picked up three code violations between them.
The Australian was cautioned for swearing, while Tsitsipas breached the rules twice for smashing the ball away into the crowd.
Tsitsipas slammed Kyrgios as “a bully” with “a very evil side”.
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He added: “He (Kyrgios) bullies the opponents.
“He was probably a bully at school himself. I don’t like bullies. I don’t like people that put other people down.
“He has some good traits in his character, as well, but he also has a very evil side to him, which if it’s exposed, it can really do a lot of harm and bad to the people around him.”
Kyrgios also took aim at the umpire during the match.
During the first set, with the score at five games apiece, a linesman incorrectly called a Kyrgios shot as out.
At the break, he shouted: “Just get a new umpire! You’re supposed to make the right call. You don’t get credit for making the right call.
“So, what you just say “sorry” and it’s all good? At five-all in a f*****g first set at a Wimbledon third round game, he says “sorry” and it’s just all good?
“Why don’t you just get a new ref? He’s got one line to call. Every single match there’s just mistakes and we just have to deal with it?”