‘Are you ready for the disrespect?’: What tennis locker room really thinks of Kyrgios

Nick Kyrgios’ win over Brit Liam Broady was pure entertainment but while fans loved the performance, it was a nightmare for one person.

Nick Kyrgios’ enthralling 6-4 6-4 6-3 win over world No. 128 Liam Broady on Tuesday night was entertainment at its best.

Kyrgios was delivering underarm serves, tweeners, tried behind-the-back serves, kicked balls at the crowd and sent the vocal locals into hysterics with any move he made.

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The constant sound of “Siuuu” — which is chanted during Cristiano Ronaldo’s trademark goal celebrations — rang out around John Cain Arena, sounding like boos but seemingly giving the local boy strength as he monstered his way to a crushing win.

It was a carnival atmosphere in the stadium so much so that Kyrgios had to ask the umpire to keep it down when Broady was serving.

“Tell them to calm it down when he’s serving,” Kyrgios said. “Tell them now.

“I don’t mind if they scream and stuff if we’re between serves and stuff but if he’s serving, tell them to relax. I don’t care for my serves that much but for him you know. I kind of know I created this s***show anyway but …”

Kyrgios called the fans “a zoo” but added it was “so much fun”.

Wrong game Nick! Photo by Michael Klein.

And after the match, Kyrgios took to Twitter, quote retweeting the Australian Open’s post which read: “Hey Siri, define ‘box office entertainment’.”

He added: “I hope this makes people happy”.

Well, we know at least one person who wasn’t happy — and he was on the other side of the net.

In Broady’s press conference, he said nothing could have prepared him for what he faced on John Cain Arena, which may as well be renamed Nick Kyrgios Arena for how he’s taken to the court and made it his own over the years.

“Everyone is telling me, ‘Oh you’ll really enjoy it, it’s going to be amazing’,” Broady said. “But I thought it was absolutely awful. I obviously wanted to go out there and win, so, I mean, losing matches in general isn’t enjoyable.

“The atmosphere was incredible, but it’s the first time I’ve ever walked onto a tennis court and been booed, which for me was a crazy experience.

“You get sledged from the sides. Like, you can’t believe that they don’t pick (it) up on TV. So it was a very, very difficult atmosphere to try and handle, and like I said, he’s incredible at getting them behind him and he plays better for it.”

Liam Broady in his press conference. Photo: Twitter

Broady went on to say it’s a strength of Kyrgios’ that the crowd interaction fuels rather than hinders him.

The Brit also said he wasn’t able to repeat any of the sledging he received and that John Cain Arena, particularly against Kyrgios. was “one of the tougher atmospheres in tennis to play”.

The pair did share laughs throughout the match though, particularly when one of the members of the crowd demanded “Underarm Liam” to follow Kyrgios’ lead in the serving department.

But when asked if Kyrgios crossed a line, Broady admitted the Aussie’s got a bit of a reputation in the locker room and he was ready for a different experience.

“I know what Nick’s like and I saw a few of the guys in the lockers before and they said, ‘Are you ready for the disrespect out there?’” Broady said.

“I don’t think it’s personal. If I felt like it was personal and it was malicious, then I would probably feel like he crossed the line, but as I said, I mean, our job is to entertain the people and for them to enjoy the tennis that they come to watch and he does that and full respect to him. That’s what tennis is about, I think.”

Pressed further on the “disrespect” other players had mentioned, Broady said: “Because sometimes he makes you feel stupid with the shots he hits, with the underarm serves through the legs and the little lobs and the dinks and then the big hits, and sometimes you feel like a bit of a club player out there. That’s what he does.

“Again, that’s one of his biggest weapons. I think if you told Nick to stop all of that showmanship and all the stuff that he does it would take away a big strength of his game. So, I mean, yeah, I am all for it, to be honest, even when it’s against me.”

Kyrgios is an entertainer first, tennis player second. Photo by MICHAEL ERREY / AFP

Broady also paid tribute to the Aussie, who had Covid just last week and bounced back in a spectacular performance.

“I don’t think he’s played a match since September, and then he can come out and serve at 83 per cent, 21 aces, and be hitting two first serves,” he said. “Maybe from the back today he might not have been feeling as good as he can do, so I’m sure there’s probably more to come from him.

“But in my opinion, Nick’s one of, if not the most, talented player in the sport. I think he had winning records against – was it Novak and Rafa? I mean, you’re not an amateur if you’ve got winning records against players like that.

“I think he could win, if he could get his body right, there’s no reason why he wouldn’t be at the top of the sport and winning everything. I mean, that’s how good I think he is.”