John Cain Arena crowd lashed for wild scenes during Nick Kyrgios win over Liam Broady

Nick Kyrgios called the crowd at $29-a-seat John Cain Arena “a zoo”. Others say the crowd crossed a line during wild scenes on Tuesday.

Nick Kyrgios stood in the middle of John Cain Arena on Tuesday night after a straight sets win over his British opponent and the crowd appeared to boo him.

“I don’t know what I’ve done to this crowd, because you guys are a zoo now,” the Aussie fan favourite said.

“You guys are out of control.”

John Cain Arena was full for the clash — unlike Rod Laver Arena which is subject to a 50 per cent capacity limit under new Covid rules.

The crowd that filed in for the Kyrgios match paid just $29 for ground pass tickets — arguably the best tickets in town.

Andy Murray, who played before Kyrgios, said through a smile that playing in front of the John Cain Arena crowd was “incredibly irritating”.

“That’s painful stuff there. Those guys.”

Nick Kyrgios couldn’t believe the crowd at his opening match in John Cain Arena. Picture: Michael Klein

He said he thought he was being booed but realised they were yelling “Siuuu” — a football cry that comes from “si”, meaning “yes” in Spanish.

“Initially, I thought it was, because there were some people booing during my practice yesterday. I have no idea what for.

“But then after a few times it was like, ‘No, they’re doing that, I think it’s like “Siuu” or something that Ronaldo does when he scores. And, yeah, it was incredibly irritating.”

Countryman Liam Broady, who Kyrgios beat in straight sets 6-4 6-4 6-3, had a similar take on the crowd.

He told reporters he could not repeat some of the sledges from the largely maskless audience.

“Not much of it, no. I was pretty surprised at it, to be honest.”

Broady said it was “pretty crazy out there”.

“I’m glad to have got it out the way. “Everyone was telling me ‘you’ll really enjoy it, it’s going to be amazing’ but I thought it was absolutely awful.

Nick Kyrgios takes a selfie with fans after last night’s win. Picture: Michael Klein

“It was a crazy experience … you get sledging from the sides like you can’t believe that they don’t pick up on TV,” he continued.

“So it’s a very difficult atmosphere to try and handle, he’s incredible at getting them behind him and he plays better for it.

While Kyrgios appeared to lap up the raucous crowd, tennis purists had other thoughts.

“In Davis Cup ties we see the parochialism of the home country, we acknowledge that and respect that,” commentator Roger Rasheed told SEN.

“This is entertaining to a level, and then I think it crosses a line where it’s not a tennis match anymore because there’s too much going on with all the punters there.

“They feel like they’re going to that match and they have to be involved.

“It’s okay, different eyeballs on tennis, but are they coming to watch any other matches or is it just this?”

Speaking to reporters after the match, Kyrgios said he couldn’t believe the scenes lasted the entire 1hr 54mins he was on court.

Andy Murray won in five sets on John Cain Arena in front of a rowdy crowd. Picture: Michael Klein

“Yeah, it’s just a stupid, f***. I can’t believe they did it so much,” he said.

“They were doing some Ronaldo thing. Ronaldo does it every time he scores. It’s like — I thought they were going to do it for like 10 minutes.

“They did it for two-and-a-half hours, like every point. I don’t know why, but I don’t know. It was a zoo out there.”

Face masks are mandatory at the opening Grand Slam of the year, but many inside John Cain Arena on Tuesday night went without.

Victoria’s Tourism, Sport and Major Events Minister Jaala Pulford confirmed ticket sales would be paused once they reached 50 per cent for Rod Laver Arena and Kia Arena.

“These updates will mean that fans, players and the workforce can look forward to a terrific Covid-safe event in Australia’s event capital,” she said.

Liam Broady said he could not repeat some of the slurs from the John Cain Arena crowd after going down to Nick Kyrgios in straight sets. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

“Melbourne Park is the best place on the planet to watch the tennis and thousands of spectators will be able to experience the iconic Australian Open from Monday.”

The fact that John Cain Arena is exempt from the capacity limit means fans will continue to fill it as the tournament goes on.

Kyrgios has no problem with that.

Asked how important it is that he plays on John Cain Arena instead of Rod Laver Arena in his next match against world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev, the Canberra product responded: “Let’s be honest, it’ll be in Rod Laver.”