“He’s brought tennis to the lowest level I can see as far as gamesmanship, cheating, manipulation, abuse, aggressive behaviour to umpires, to linesmen” - Pat Cash on Nick Kyrgios

Nick Kyrgios beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in the third round of the 2022 Championships on Saturday to advance to the fourth round at SW19 for the first time since 2016.

The match had all the pre-anticipated drama and some more. The ill-tempered clash had three code violations: one for Kyrgios for an audible obscenity and two for Tsitsipas for ball abuse.

Australian former professional tennis player Pat Cash has launched a scathing attack on Kyrgios, accusing his compatriot of cheating and dragging tennis down to new depths. The 1987 Wimbledon champion, speaking in the BBC commentary box, was not amused by Kyrgios’ actions.

“It was absolute mayhem, he was lucky to even get through the first set. He should have been defaulted in the first set. Something's got to be done about it. It's just an absolute circus,” Cash said.

“He's brought tennis to the lowest level I can see as far as gamesmanship, cheating, manipulation, abuse, aggressive behaviour to umpires, to linesmen,” Cash added.

The drama began at the end of the first set when Kyrgios was unhappy with the linesperson's call. He had a conversation with the chair umpire, which became a theme for the rest of the contest.

There was constant chatter between games from Kyrgios, who took it up a notch when he curtsied to the crowd at 5-3 in the third set following a winning drop shot. He then went on to make a “money” gesture with his hand in praise of a crisp backhand volley winner that won him the third set.

Cash stated that while the 27-year-old’s antics were entertaining, there was no place in the sport for them.

“Is it entertaining? Yeah, possibly. It's gone to the absolute limit now. [It's] the gamesmanship, the abuse he was giving. Tsitsipas got sucked right into it, so it was entertaining and fascinating but for me, it's gone too far now,” Cash said. “I have no problems with a bit of gamesmanship but, when it gets to that level, I think it's just out of control.”

Both Kyrgios and Tsitsipas have been fined for their dismal behavior. Tsitsipas was fined $14,700 for hitting a ball which narrowly missed spectators, while Kyrgios, who had already received the same fine after spitting in his first-round match, was hit with a further $6,000 fine.

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“I've never seen anything like it, I'm not sure I want to see something like that again” - Mats Wilander on Nick Kyrgios

An animated Nick Kyrgios during his match against Stefanos Tsitsipas at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships

Speaking on Eurosport, Swedish former World No. 1 Mats Wilander also spoke out against Nick Kyrgios’ behavior.

“I've never seen anything like it. I'm not sure I want to see something like that again, to be honest, because I don't think this is what we want to promote in tennis,” Wilander said.

“We do not want to promote it as entertainment, we want to promote it as inspirational and educational. I'm not sure I'm a big fan of what's going on, to be honest,” Wilander added.

Ironically, John McEnroe, who was once dubbed ‘Superbrat’ for his behavior, said that he's not a fan of Kyrgios’ actions while commentating for ESPN.

“It's embarrassing. He [Nick Kyrgios] doesn't need to do all this. It's scary how good he is. That's what's sad in a way,” McEnroe said.

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