JOHN LLOYD: Nick Kyrgios’ antics must be curbed as the umpire was intimidated by the Australian… and opponent Stefanos Tsitsipas suffered
- Nick Kyrgios’ antics must be curbed after the referee lost control of the match
- The Australian bad boy knocked out Stefanos Tsitsipas and reached the fourth round
- Tsitsipas couldn’t play and got so frustrated that he hit the ball into the crowd
Nick Kyrgios should have been given notice of default last night. The umpire completely lost control of the match, tennis became secondary and it became almost impossible for Stefanos Tsitsipas to play.
I love an entertainer but this was way over the top. As his opponent said, it was like playing in a circus.
I look back on my day and it’s just a different mindset. When John McEnroe did some of his stuff he was booed by the crowd and now when Kyrgios does it he is applauded and Tsitsipas was the bad guy. That is baffling to me.
Nick Kyrgios should have defaulted on his controversial win over Stefanos Tsitsipas
When John McEnroe (pictured) did similar things, he was booed by the crowd
When the linesman came to the umpire and told him that Kyrgios had cursed, he decided not to warn him and that was a big mistake.
Maybe the umpire decided to just let that one go, but with Nick you have to stamp your authority because otherwise he will walk all over you and that’s what he did.
When Tsitsipas hit the ball into the crowd and Nick asked for a default, he told the umpire, “Wait until I go to the press conference after that, what I’m going to say about you.”
You can’t say that, that’s intimidation and the referee allowed himself to be intimidated.
He was completely subdued and didn’t know what to do. He was on the phone the entire time, I assume he spoke to the supervisor. And once you do that, you’re no longer in control of the game.
Australian Open semi-finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas was bullied by what was going on
That kind of behavior needs to be curbed because eventually tennis becomes secondary and Tsitsipas got so frustrated because he was almost bullied by all the things that were going on. Kyrgios was actually trying to disrupt his opponent’s game.
He wasn’t really allowed to play tennis, he was hunted everywhere. I know you play to the server tempo, but this was ridiculous, Kyrgios served within two seconds.
It was non-stop verbal stuff from the start, constant insults to the referee, calling him useless. You have to stamp your authority and say, “Listen, if you say that one more time, you’re out of here.”
If it’s an isolated incident, you’re blowing off steam, a referee makes a bad decision, it’s the heat of the moment, we’ve all done it, I get it.
Australian Kyrgios approached the umpire about 20 to 30 times during his last match
But this was 20 to 30 times when he ran off with the umpire, he complained about every damn thing. It gets boring and tennis becomes secondary.
And Tsitsipas was the one who suffered from that and his frustration boiled over as he hit the ball into the crowd. That Tsitsipas got a point and Kyrgios just a warning for everything he did was a joke, a complete joke.
I played with Jimmy Connors and Mac and their behavior wasn’t even on the same planet.
That said, last night he hit a few shots where you go, ‘Oh my god, this guy is a fucking genius.’
If he serves like he was in patches, no one would want to play him. But then I am not convinced that he will steam Brandon Nakashima in the next round, anything can happen.
He should now make it to the semi-finals and if he does he would play against Rafael Nadal and I’m telling you Rafa wouldn’t have let that happen last night. He would have made much more of it for the umpire, the supervisor was told. He would not have allowed himself to be dictated as Tsitsipas was.
Tsitsipas tried to stand out from it and stay calm, but you can’t do that against Nick, you have to intervene. You have to stand up for yourself and he didn’t.
Brit is about to
Yesterday was a tough day for the British players, but there are good signs for the future. In the past we’ve had Andy Murray and not much else, while too many people with a little talent got too much help and funding. That’s over now and what you’re seeing here is a tougher, tougher group. Katie Boulter, Liam Broady, Dan Evans are all legit pros and they are all pushing each other to the next level. And if you’re going to do that, it’s going to be very healthy.
I don’t think we will have Wimbledon champions next year, but we will get more players in the draw without a wildcard and that is the sign of a good tennis system.
You should start with a group of players in the top 100. Those who win Slams. To some extent they were born with it and would have been champions no matter what country they were born in. We’ve had Murray and now we’ve got Emma Raducanu, so we shouldn’t complain, but you know it’s going to be good when you have a group of good players.
I think the upward trend will continue and we are entering a healthy period for British tennis.