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Tennis fans have criticized Nick Kyrgios for taking a dig at Stan Wawrinka and reigniting his eight-year-old feud with him.
During their Round of 32 clash at the 2015 Rogers Cup in Montreal, Kyrgios made a comment about Wawrinka's then-girlfriend Donna Vekic sleeping with Thanasi Kokkinakis. As expected, things got heated between the two players.
When the Swiss star lost to Holger Rune in the first round of the 2022 Paris Masters, he accused the 19-year-old Dane of “acting like a baby” at the net. Wawrinka avenged his loss in the third round of the ongoing BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells recently, beating Rune 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5.
Rune reminded the three-time Grand Slam champion of the earlier incident at the net.
Rune: You’ve got nothing to say now?
Wawrinka: What do you want me to say?
While fans slammed the 19-year-old for misbehaving with the former World No. 3, Kyrgios jumped in to lend his support to Rune.
"Hahaha yeah all good when you win... typical. Holger Rune, with you my brother," Kyrgios tweeted.
The tennis world blasted the 27-year-old Aussie, accusing him of being self-centered and suggesting that a player (Rune, in this case) should know that they are wrong if Kyrgios is supporting them.
"This is so funny when you remember that age-old NK-stan beef from 2015 where NK got real quiet real quick when Stan actually confronted him in the locker room, so now 8 years later he is living vicariously through Rune who's apparently a lot braver than he was lmao," a fan tweeted.
"I doubt Stan is bothered what he thinks, having won the match and with 3 slams in the bag. I wonder how many Kygrious will end up with. Great role model for Rune...not," a user wrote.
"Ah yes, @NickKyrgios, a master at knowing when to keep his mouth shut, be respectful on the court and not chirp at his opponents," another tweet read.
Here are some more fan reactions:
"I should have won the match way before" - Stan Wawrinka on his win against Holger Rune
Stan Wawrinka beat Holger Rune 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5 in the third round of the 2023 BNP Paribas Open to level their head-to-head 1-1. After the match, the 37-year-old praised the Danish youngster but added that he should have closed out the match much earlier.
"I feel good. The last 45 minutes were tough," Stan Wawrinka said. "I had the match in control, was playing well. I was putting a lot of pressure, I should have won the match way before. I started feeling nervous and hesitated a little bit. He came back in the match. He is an amazing player, a young player."
"But it is special to keep winning. It was important to stay there mentally because I'm playing well. I was trying to stay calm with myself. I lost to him already in Paris. All my career I know only one way. To keep fighting, working, pushing myself, and stay positive. I am super happy with the win," he added.
Wawrinka will face Jannik Sinner in the fourth round at Indian Wells.
