Tennis news: Nick Kyrgios lashes fan for jeering Daniil Medvedev
Nick Kyrgios has had his say after video emerged of world No.1 Daniil Medvedev facing of with a tennis spectator who jeered him.
Tennis
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Nick Kyrgios has slammed tennis fans on social media, after spectators at the National Bank Open chanted “loser” as his Russian opponent exited the arena.
Video has emerged on social media of World No. 1 tennis player, Daniil Medvedev exiting the arena in Montreal with security, after his 7-6, 6-4, 6-2 loss to Nick Kyrgios in the competition’s second round last week.
Medvedev, the former singles champion of the event, was filmed walking past a group of spectators who were chanting “loser” and shouting at him after the match.
The Russian tennis champion can be seen immediately turning around and approaching one fan in particular, who kept repeating “loser”.
The two engaged in what appeared to be a calm but lengthy discussion, with Medvedev gesturing at the spectator standing in the crowd.
Disgusting behaviour â˜¹ï¸ This is the best we have in the sport, fans need to show some respect. https://t.co/p0MG6vF4Xn
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) August 14, 2022
Multiple security circled the tennis icon as he continued to speak with fans who shouted what sounded like “respect us and we will respect you.”
Other fans close by can be heard telling the spectator to “apologise” for offending Medvedev.
The video, which has over half a million views, was reposted by the Australian tennis star on Monday morning, who condemned the behaviour of the pictured fans.
“Disgusting behaviour. This is the best we have in the sport, fans need to show some respect,” Kyrgios said on Twitter.
Tennis fans have both praised and criticised Kyrgios’ post.
“You swearing is often vulgar, you show violent tendencies with racquet smashing and a whole lot worse in front of children watching. I’m a fan of all tennis players & what they bring to the court but respect is earned and goes both ways,” said one Twitter user.
“Do as I say, not as I do. Ask umpires and line judges about being shown respect,” said another.
One user backed Kyrgios in supporting Medvedev.
“These tennis players are entertaining us by giving it their all in extreme temperatures and this is how we show our appreciation,” she said.
“Imagine you’re at the national bank open, you see medvedev, and think to yourself, “yea let me call the number one ranked in the world a loser” how does that work,” said another user.
Medvedev said that he had no choice but to respond to the spectator who jeered him after his loss last week to Nick Kyrgios in Montreal.
Medvedev, speaking as he prepared to start as top seed at the ATP Cincinnati Masters, declined to elaborate on what he told the young spectator who called him a “loser.”
But he said he felt compelled to act when the insult came from the person standing with a group of fans at an entrance to the locker room.
“I was disappointed after losing the match (in three sets to Kyrgios),” Medvedev said.
“But when someone mocks me, I’ll respond.
“It would be bad to let people shout bad things at me and just keep walking.
“I will ask what his problem is.”
Medvedev also questioned the parenting of the young man’s father, who was standing next to him in the scrum and who also joined in the verbal slanging.
“The father of the guy said something to me also — I say educate your kid. I won’t let people mock me.” Medvedev said such harsh treatment is far from common “in real life.”
“This is one of the first times it’s happened to me, it doesn’t really happen a lot. On social media (criticism and insults) are a bit out of control.”
‘I’m not a machine’: Kyrgios’ had little left as streak ends
Nick Kyrgios confessed that he had little more to give physically as his nine-match win streak came to an end in the quarter-finals of the ATP Montreal Masters on Friday.
The Wimbledon runner-up lost 7-6 (7-4) 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 to Polish powerhouse Hubert Hurkacz after coming to the court with 15 victories from his past 16 matches.
But the Australian had little left to give as his body began to complain.
“My body hasn’t been feeling great the last week,” he said. “I was feeling the abdominal (muscle) a little bit before the match. My knees hurt.”
Kyrgios kept the pace of the match brisk as he held his own in the first two sets before finally losing momentum in the third as Hurkacz took control.
The Aussie was annoyed as his opponent left the court for a change of clothes, a delay that ate into his fragile fitness.
“Obviously when you’re playing and you stop for like five to 10 minutes, it doesn’t help your body,” Kyrgios said.
“My body was so stiff after that, I couldn’t move properly.
“I mean, it’s within the rules. I’m not going to complain. I completely stiffened up.”
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World number 37 Kyrgios, whose performance this week will send him into a seeded US Open spot, added: “I’m not a machine. I’m a human.”
Kyrgios won his first ATP title in three years last week at Washington and shared the doubles crown with Jack Sock, the first man in the event’s 53-year history to take both crowns in the same year.
“My knees were sore, my back was sore... I was trying to stay moving, but I just stiffened up,” Kyrgios said. “My body hasn’t been feeling great the last week.”
Kyrgios said he needs a pause before returning to the fray next week at Cincinnati in the last major tuneup for the US Open, which begins August 29.
“I feel good, but the US Open still is two and a half weeks away. I have Cincinnati next week. That’s all I’m focusing on,” Kyrgios said.
“I’m focusing on today, tonight, recovery, food, then just resting, then Cincinnati. That’s where my mind is at.”
Kyrgios’ signature meltdown enroute to Demon demolition
- Emma Greenwood
Nick Kyrgios’s Jekyll and Hyde northern summer continues, with the freakishly talented 27-year-old paying tribute to the team he berated during a 6-2 6-3 demolition of fellow Aussie Alex de Minaur which ensured he will be seeded for the US Open.
Coming off a stunning win over world no.1 Daniil Medvedev at the Montreal Masters ATP event, Kyrgios conceded he struggled mentally against his Davis Cup teammate despite the comprehensive win.
The victory, which included a 23-minute first set in which he conceded just three points on serve, lifted Kyrgios to 27 in the live ATP rankings and he will shoot to no.21, displacing de Minaur as the top-ranked Aussie male, if he is able to overcome Hubert Hurkacz in Saturday’s quarter-final.
But Kyrgios’s ugly side emerged in the second set as he constantly berated his team for a perceived lack of support, eventually calling them “f***ing stupid” as he unraveled when serving for the match.
Despite breaking his rival, de Minaur - who was in good form of his own, having beaten world no.19 Grigor Dimitrov in the previous round - by this point was a bystander to the sideshow.
Struggling after coming off the high of the Medvedev victory and having his match against de Minaur delayed by rain and moved off centre court, Kyrgios took his frustration out on his team in the second set, becoming more and more agitated.
“It was incredibly tough after yesterday’s big high,” Kyrgios said.
“I played Daniil and the crowd was amazing and it was a day I’ll probably never forget.”
While he broke de Minaur in the first game of the second set, the New South Welshman broke back the following game and Kyrgios started what became a constant tirade at his box for their failure to support him adequately.
“How many more matches until you get it?” Kyrgios said to supporters including his girlfriend, physio and manager after a 30-30 point.
“There’s Nothing more frustrating, I fight back from 0-30.”
After losing his serve, he continued to rant.
“Do you understand that I’ll be berated in the media if I lose this match, do you understand that? Clearly not.”
The rants seem to fuel Kyrgios’s fire though, with his stoke-making and defence against the de Minaur serve sublime.
He served for the match at 5-2 in the second but unraveled as he again questioned his team in an ever-more condescending manner.
“I think you guys are f*** stupid, I think you guys are dumb,” he said after being broken by de Minaur.
“You just don’t get it. Well done, well done.”
As he has done so often recently though, blowing off steam at his own team allowed Kyrgios to flick the switch on court and he broke de Minaur for a third time in the set to seal a 6-2 6-3 win.
He paid tribute to his team immediately after the match though.
“It’s just my team - my girlfriend, my physio, my agent - we ride the ups and downs,” he said.
“These days are starting to blend into one another. Physio, eat, sleep, play, it’s tiring.”
It’s paying off for Kyrgios though, who was the biggest loser out of Wimbledon’s decision not to award ranking points after banning Russian and Belarusian players from the grand slam, with his run to the final ordinarily ensuring he would already be in the top 20.
Having committed to play at the Cincinnati Masters event next week though, he could be there by the time he gets to New York.
“(Ensuring I was seeded) was a goal so I didn’t get one of the big titans or gods first round and I can actually work my way into the draw if the draw’s kind,” he said.
“But I always feel as if my game is right there no matter who I play.
“Today I felt amazing and I’ve just got to keep it going.”
The Montreal match was the first meeting between the two Aussies and Kyrgios said that had also been difficult.
“Today was really hard for me mentally go out here and play Alex, we’re such good friends and he’s been having such a good career so far and carrying the Australian flag for so long,” Kyrgios said of the man currently the highest-ranked Australian male.
“It was just tough, mentally to play a friend like that, especially if they’re an Australian.
“I just got out here and got the job done, I played the way I had to play.
“He’s such a good player, if you play to his strengths, he’s one of the best players from the back in the game and so fast.”
‘Be strong Ma’: Pain behind Kyrgios’ stunning win
- Todd Balym
Nick Kyrgios has stunned world No.1 Daniil Medvedev in one of the greatest triumphs of his career whilst revealing the turmoil he is battling every day with his family confronting personal issues home in Australia.
The Australian tennis star came from behind to claim a 6-7 (2) 6-4 6-2 victory in just under two hours in the second round of the Montreal Masters ATP event to take his winning streak to eight games just two weeks out from the US Open.
It is the biggest scalp of the season for Kyrgios who has now won 14 of his last 15 matches, his only defeat coming against Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final.
But his thoughts are almost always with his family back in Australia, particularly his mother Norlaila who is currently unwell in hospital.
Kyrgios revealed his family pain after his first round victory in Montreal, adding that it was a particularly tough time for everyone back home including his father who flew back to Australia after Wimbledon.
“Be strong Ma,” Kyrgios wrote on the cameras after the win.
“It’s hard because even travelling now, my mum is in hospital at the moment, my dad hasn’t been very well, my brother just had a baby and I don’t get to be there with my family when normal people would like to be with them,” Kyrgios said.
“It’s hard being from Australia because we can’t travel back and forth. There’s a lot of things people don’t see. They only see me winning, losing, throwing a racquet, doing those things. They don’t really understand the challenges that I face or what people on tour face, what’s going on in their personal lives.”
Despite his mental anguish, Kyrgios continued to display his new-found maturity and elite tennis level in his second round clash with the world No.1.
Kyrgios adopted a serve-volley tactic on his service games, trying to put more pressure on Medvedev who had previously infuriated opponents by standing a few metres deeper on his returns.
The tactic clearly worked for the Australian as his serve was not broken at all in the first two sets, flying through his games without giving the Russian any break point opportunities.
At one point in the second set Medvedev appeared to complain to the chair umpire that Kyrgios was receiving coaching from the grandstands, a point she refuted by saying the people in the Kyrgios player box were simply offering encouragement which is allowed.
It was only in the second game of the third set that the Russian was able to put any pressure on the Kyrgios serve, but the Australian was still able to hold.
Kyrgios broke on his second opportunity in the fifth game with a superb cross court backhand the Russian couldn’t handle at the net.
He then put the foot down to fly through his next service game and kept the heat on Medvedev to break again in the seventh game to set up the chance to serve out the match. Kyrgios closed out the match with another service game to love, raising hopes he could head to New York as a serious grand slam contender.
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