Never a dull moment
Even by Nick Kyrgios’ standards, Thursday’s Indian Wells quarter-final defeat to Rafael Nadal was eventful stuff.
The Australian went down in three sets to Nadal, his notorious temper seeing him argue with a fan before almost hitting a ballboy with a racket as he slammed it into the court.
In the final set, Kyrgios had become irked by a fan who tried to tell him how to hold serve as the Spaniard forced a couple of break points. Noticing they were sitting within close proximity to Ben Stiller, the 26-year-old then referenced the Hollywood actor in his attempts to silence the fan.
“Why are you speaking?” Kyrgios asked the fan before pointing to Stiller. “Do I tell him how to act? No.”
😆
Does @NickKyrgios tell @BenStiller how to act? Don’t think so…#IndianWells pic.twitter.com/wrq9j5VBSi
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 18, 2022
Seconds after Nadal’s victory had been confirmed, Kyrgios launched his racket onto the court in frustration. The racket bounced up, forcing the ballboy to dodge out of its way.
https://twitter.com/tsitschurrow/status/1504635082698629121
Thankfully, no harm was done, with Kyrgios tweeting that he had later reached out to the ballboy to offer his apologies and a racket (presumably just handed over, not launched at him).
“Made a new friend in the process,” he tweeted. “Accidents happen but we can go out of our way to make things better.”
Made a new friend in the process 🤍 accidents happen but we can go out of our way to make things better 🥶👑 pic.twitter.com/G0gI5QpmBy
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) March 18, 2022
The incident comes a couple of weeks after Alexander Zverev well and truly lost his cool during a Mexican Open doubles match and repeatedly hit out at the umpire’s chair with his racquet.
Related links:
- Alexander Zverev repeatedly smashes racquet on umpire’s chair in fit of rage
- Novak Djokovic smashes racket in furious outburst during Olympic defeat
- Naomi Osaka reduced to tears after being heckled by crowd
