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Nick Kyrgios has once again expressed his anger at his home country and especially at Tennis Australia for ignoring him. The 22nd-ranked player feels that he has been cheated after the 2022 Newcombe Medal was conferred upon Ashleigh Barty and not him.
Winning her third Grand Slam singles title at the 2022 Australian Open, Barty made her way to the list of players who won Majors on all surfaces. She had previously clinched the 2019 French Open and the 2021 Wimbledon titles. However, the former World No. 1 shocked the tennis world when she announced her retirement at the age of just 25 in March this year.
Before winning the Australian Open without dropping a set, Barty also won the WTA 500 Adelaide International, both in the singles as well as doubles categories. She won all 14 matches that she played this year and this earned her a fifth consecutive Newcombe medal at the Australian Tennis Awards at Melbourne’s Crown Casino on Monday.
Kyrgios, who has had a highly impressive year and has often named himself the best Australian player this season, was not impressed and took to social media to vent his anger. Reacting to a graphic comparing Barty and himself, Kyrgios accused Tennis Australia of having "no respect" for his achievements and suggested that he didn't care.
"Lol! No respect at all. I don't give a f*ck," Kyrgios wrote on his Instagram stories.
Kyrgios won three titles in the doubles category, including the 2022 Australian Open. He also won the singles title at the Citi Open. However, the biggest highlight of his season was reaching the Wimbledon final, where he lost to Novak Djokovic.
Apart from Barty and Kyrgios, other players to be nominated for the prestigious award were Alex de Minaur, Ajla Tomljanovic, Matthew Ebden, Max Purcell, and Storm Sanders.
"This is the first year I’ve earned respect when it should have been given when I first came on tour" - Nick Kyrgios
Nick Kyrgios recently participated in the Diriyah Tennis Cup exhibition tournament, played in Saudi Arabia. Ahead of his first match, the 27-year-old Australian spoke to the news agency Australian Associated Press and stated that being one of the best players in the world, he should have been given respect from the beginning.
"I’ve always been one of the best players in the world. I’ve always held up my fair share of the bargain towards Australia. I feel like this is the first year I’ve earned respect when it should have been given when I first came on tour. I’ve represented them, put them on the map, and having produced one of the most successful male years in the last decade for Australia, and am only just getting embraced now, I don’t think that’s my fault," Kyrgios said.
