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Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios aimed a filthy sledge at Stanislas Wawrinka as the two battled in the second round at the Montreal Masters, Fox Sports reports. The remark has understandably drawn widespread criticism from various quarters, not least from the French Open champion himself who called on the ATP to take action against the 19-year-old.
Considered Australia’s brightest prospect in tennis since Lleyton Hewitt, Kyrgios’ talent with the racket is undeniable. The teenager has displayed some remarkable tennis on the professional circuit, but his game has more often than not been overshadowed by his disciplinary issues, especially his constant run-ins with officials.
In the match against Wawrinka, the teenager stooped to an all-time low, however. The Australian cricket team is known for its infamous sledging practices and it seems Kyrgios has taken a leaf out of their book.
Wawrinka had clinched the first set in a close tiebreaker and Kyrgios lost his cool while serving in the opening game of the second set and unleashed a sleazy remark at his opponent, which was captured on live TV: “Kokkinakis ba**ed your girlfriend. Sorry to tell you that, mate.”
He was referring to his Australian Davis Cup teammate Thanasi Kokkinakis who had partnered with Wawrinka’s present girlfriend Donna Vekic in the Australian Open mixed doubles competition in 2014. Kokkinakis and Vekic were also rumoured to be going out last year.
Kyrgios went on to win the second set and then the match as Wawrinka retired with a back injury during the course of the third set. When enquired on his remark after the match, the Australian said, “He was getting a bit lippy with me. Kind of in the heat of the moment. I don’t know. I just said it.”
Here’s the video of the shameful act:
Wawrinka lashes out at Kyrgios
The two-time Grand Slam champion reacted angrily to the incident and called on the sport’s governing body to take stringent action against the Australian. He revealed that he had attempted to confront Kyrgios after the match, but to no avail.
“He tried to avoid me, but I confronted him,” Wawrinka said. “It will stay in the locker room. But I think there are things, regardless of how you are, regardless of the stress you have on the court, there are things you just cannot say.”
“And regardless of whether or not he sidesteps it, I think the way he behaves on the court, he has big problems. Every match he has problems. Every match he behaves very badly. On top of that the problem is that he doesn’t just behave badly towards himself, he behaves very badly towards the people around – the other players, the ball kids, the umpires.”
“I just hope that the ATP will take big measures against him because he’s young maybe, but there’s no excuse,” he said.
The World No 5 further took to Twitter to make his thoughts clearer and reiterated that the ATP should take action.
Kyrgios no stranger to such acts
The talented Australian tennis player has recently been talked about a lot, but mostly for his controversial behaviour, a recent example of which was at Wimbledon 2015, when he argued with match officials and was accused of tanking during his four-set loss to Richard Gasquet.
Sporting world reacts angrily to Kyrgios remark
Tennis players, past and present, were united in condemning the Australian for his sleazy remark, with several making their thoughts clear on Twitter. Former World No 1 Victoria Azarenka, who is also reported to have previously dated Kyrgios, felt the Australian had indeed crossed the line.
Magnus Norman, Wawrinka’s coach was also visibly infuriated by the incident.
Australian cricketer Glenn Maxwell also reacted to the incident and asked people on Twitter what they thought about Kyrgios’ actions.
