Nick Kyrgios put on a show for the fans who apparently were just there to see him.
The spirited Aussie tennis star had another of his epic meltdowns in a 7-6, 6-3 loss to Jannik Sinner at the Miami Open on Tuesday.
Kyrgios’ afternoon was filled with racquet throws and punches, plenty of heated words with chair umpire Carlos Bernardes and even a fan who somehow tried to take a selfie as tensions reached a fever pitch.
After the game, Kyrgios continued to scold Bernardes both in a post-match press conference and on social media.
“If everyone in that crowd is booing a referee and he’s the center of attention, that’s not his job,” Kyrgios said. “Because nobody in this whole stadium bought a ticket to see him talk or play or do what he does.”
Nick Kyrgios smashes his racquet at the Miami Open on March 29, 2022. Getty Images
“They have Jannik Sinner, one of our biggest stars and, not to blow a horn, the majority of people are there to watch me play. And you got a guy talking while I was 40-0. He has spoken. I was like, ‘What are you doing?’ In fact, the crowd hated him so much that they told him to shut up. If you’re being booed by the crowd, you’re not doing a good job. He was doing it about himself and apparently his feelings were hurt by what I and the crowd said. You can’t be like that if you’re a referee.”
The fireworks seemed to start when a walkie-talkie went off during a point when the score was 4-4 in the first set. They improved significantly in the first set tie-break when Kyrgios missed a forehand and then slammed his racquet onto the court. He was already mad at Bernardes for reasons that weren’t immediately clear.
“What is unsportsmanlike? What is unsportsmanlike?” he asked Bernardes repeatedly before shouting that he wanted to speak to a tournament official.
Nick Kyrgios smashes his racquet at the Miami Open on March 29, 2022. Getty Images
“Bring me someone now!” said Kyrgios and then smashed his racquet onto the court four times.
It was then that Bernardes imposed the penalty, allowing Kyrgios to earn a break before the second set even started and Sinner kept the lead the rest of the way.
Kyrgios’ frustration continued in a social media rant after the game.
“Some of the circus that was today!” Kyrgios wrote over a video of the action posted to his Instagram story. “Great referee and court at a Master 1000 (laughing emojis). All I said to get a point penalty was that my friend could do the referee’s job. He said his feelings were hurt. Hundreds of thousands of dollars at stake. GET NEW REFEREES.”
Kyrgios said he has been in a happier place lately, although that happiness eluded him earlier this month in Indian Wells. After losing to Rafael Nadal there in the quarterfinals and shaking hands, Kyrgios went to his seat and smashed his racquet – which almost ended up hitting a ball boy. That earned him a $25,000 fine for a combination of his antics and an audible profanity.
A fan takes a selfie with Kyrgios at the Miami OpenEPA
Kyrgios revealed on Tuesday that he found the Indian Wells ball boy a day later and handed him a racquet as an apology.
“He will remember that as he will remember his whole life. The ATP does not record any media on this,” said Kyrgios.
Another fine could come as his professed luck wasn’t there on Tuesday either.
Sinner, on the other hand, didn’t know much about what made Kyrgios so upset.
“I was just trying to stay in my zone and yeah I think that was the right choice,” Sinner said.
This is far from the first time Kyrgios’ on-pitch antics have overshadowed his game.
In 2019, during his second-round match at the Italian Open, he walked off and threw a chair onto the red clay during a fit of rage, resulting in his defaulting and being fined. Kyrgios was banned from the ATP Tour for two months in 2016 for “fueling” a match and insulting fans during a loss at the Shanghai Masters. And in 2015, Kyrgios insulted Stan Wawrinka with rude remarks during a game in Montreal, earning him a $12,500 fine and a 28-day ban.
Kyrgios throws his bat in disgust at Getty Images
“I know I’m a good person,” Kyrgios said. “I don’t really care, but I don’t see what you could possibly punish me for today.”
— With AP