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Reigning ATP Finals champion and 2019 Australian Open semifinalist Stefanos Tsitsipas caught up with Nick Kyrgios in a brief video chat on Instagram. And as expected, there were plenty of jokes and light-hearted barbs in the conversation.
Tsitsipas and Kyrgios are among the most talented youngsters on the ATP tour, and also among the most outspoken. They have been entertaining the fans for a while now with their off-beat style and self-deprecating humor, and their joint Instagram chat - although just 2.5 minutes long - was no different.
Tsitsipas started with a bit of sarcasm, saying "You stole the show!" upon Kyrgios' arrival. Kyrgios responded that he saw Tsitsipas going live and couldn't resist catching up.
"I was on Instagram and I saw you go live...and all my attention shifted to you," Kyrgios said, while trying - but failing - to keep a straight face.
The playful back-and-forth continued as Tsitsipas asked Kyrgios what was he doing alone at a parking lot so late, to which the Aussie replied with a wink: "I don't know. I'm just waiting for someone."
Tsitsipas didn't take that lying down, and brought back his earlier sarcasm by saying, "Someone. Suuure."
After an exchange of pleasantries, Stefanos Tsitsipas said that he was happy to see a smile on Nick Kyrgios' face. But the Aussie interrupted him, saying that his phone was still 'recovering' after his number was shared on Instagram.
Tsitsipas looked taken aback for a second, but then tried to put on an innocent face by saying, "I had no idea that it would end up like this. But it's time to tell people that I did not share your number without your approval."
Kyrgios smiled and asked the Greek whether he could play the same prank on him. "Do I have your approval to share your number?" the Aussie asked.
Tsitsipas replied that Kyrgios was free to do so, and that he was anyway looking for an excuse to change his number.
"Please do so," Tsitsipas said. "Now I can change my phone number. I receive too many spam calls and messages."
When Stefanos Tsitsipas served Nick Kyrgios a 'surprise' birthday present
The entire 'phone' conversation was in reference to a prank that the Greek played on Kyrgios recently.
Two weeks ago, on 27 April (Nick Kyrgios' 25th birthday), Stefanos Tsitsipas shared the Aussie's mobile number on Instagram. Naturally, his phone got flooded with calls from fans, and he was forced to switch it off.
Kyrgios clearly hasn't forgotten that yet, and seems determined to pay back in the same coin. And the fans would certainly love it if they got a chance to flood Tsitsipas' phone with calls as well, the way they did with Kyrgios' phone.
Stefanos Tsitsipas' 2020 season so far
Before the coronavirus-enforced lock-down began, Stefanos Tsitsipas had his hands full with considerably more serious matters.
Fresh off winning the biggest title of his career at the season-ending ATP Finals in London, Tsitsipas started the 2020 season at the inaugural ATP Cup. The 21-year-old beat Alexander Zverev in straight sets there, either side of a third-set tiebreak loss to Nick Kyrgios and a straight-sets defeat to Canada's Denis Shapovalov.
the Australian Open, Tsitsipas failed to repeat his 2019 run to the semifinals as he fell to another Canadian - Milos Raonic - in the third round.
Following a second-round ouster in Rotterdam, Stefanos Tsitsipas won his fifth career singles title by beating young gun Felix Auger Aliassime in the Marseille final. That marked the first time the young Greek successfully defended a title in his young career.
In his second ATP 500 tournament of the season in Dubai, the young Greek beat Pablo Carreno Busta, Alexander Bublik, Jan-Lennard Struff and Daniel Evans to return to the final. But a first Dubai title was not to be for Tsitsipas as he went down in straight sets to Novak Djokovic.
A month later the COVID-19 pandemic spread through the USA and large parts of Europe, which forced the ATP to cancel a bevvy of tournaments starting with the two Masters 1000 tournaments at Indian Wells and Miami.
The ATP, in a joint statement with the WTA, has since announced the suspension of the season till at least 13 July, depending on the evolving situation on the COVID-19 front. So with a lot of free time on his hands, Tsitsipas has been engaging in quite a bit of tomfoolery on social media - in association with the likes of Kyrgios.
