‘You got nothing else to do?’: Fan thrown out following Nick Kyrgios tirade

Nick Kyrgios served an underarm ace. A spectator in the crowd yelled at him, “Get a new haircut!” The Australian took the bait.

Nick Kyrgios sparked the ire of one spectator in Miami. Picture: Getty Images

Nick Kyrgios served an underarm ace. He was booed a bit, cheered a bit. A spectator in the Miami crowd yelled at him, “Get a new haircut!” Kyrgios took the bait.

“You got a free ticket?” Kyrgios shouted back. “You got a free ticket? Why are you watching me on a Sunday night? You got nothing else to do on a Sunday night? You got nothing else to do on a Sunday night!” The man motioned for Kyrgios to get up in the grandstand and say it to his face. “Sunday night!” Kyrgios laughed. “And you’re still out here watching me!”

The art of trashtalking by @NickKyrgios #ATPMiami pic.twitter.com/PLg82I2lny

— Jeff Dearman 👅 (@DearmanJeff) March 25, 2019

Update: shit-talking, sports agent-looking fan gets tossed, to everyone's approval. Kyrgios claps him out of the stadium with everybody else. Kyrgios proceeds to win the set 6-3 up 40-0 with an UNDERHANDED SERVE. Lets see what happens in set 2 because with @NickKyrgios pic.twitter.com/lV9Sj4Lo8z

— Spose (@spizzyspose) March 25, 2019

First set of Nick Kyrgios 3rd Round match which he wins vs Lajovic...
-Underhand serve ace
-Underhand serve on set point
-Tweener & wins point
- No look forehand
- Salutes crowd before overhead
-Delay of game warning
-Arguing with fan
-Fan thrown out#MiamiOpen #ATP pic.twitter.com/Kkkx0BcBLY

— John Horn (@SportsHorn) March 25, 2019

The patron kept flapping his gums. Kyrgios returned the favour: “You’re a champion, bro. Champion.” Kyrgios threw the burly man a ball and laughed, “There you go, champ!” The majority of the crowd were on Kyrgios’s side by now. When security led the man away — his companion stayed courtside — Kyrgios sarcastically clapped and waved him goodbye. He received a code violation for delaying play before running out a 6-3 6-1 winner against Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic.

Kyrgios said he reacted to being called a “d..k”.

“At a change of ends, he literally just said, ‘You’re a d..k.’ I was like, OK, I don’t quite understand the context of it because you’re literally sitting here, paying good money to watch me on a Sunday night. You obviously don’t have anything else to do. He was like, ‘You’re a d..k.’ I was like OK, you have nothing else to say. He was like, come here and say it. I was like, well, no. Because I have to play. And I don’t know, I just kept going.”

Kyrgios said he had no problem with the incident. “Idiots in the crowd … I had a bit of fun with it. I knew I was going to get him kicked out. I loved it. I loved every single bit of it. I think tennis needs stuff like this. I don’t mind. If anything, he got me going. Got me motivated a little bit more.”

Nick Kyrgios in action against Dusan Lajovic. Picture: AFP

Eventful day, as ever. Kyrgios warmed up for his match at the Miami Masters by sledging Angelique Kerber on Twitter. The former world number one called Bianca Andreescu “the biggest drama queen over” during a frosty and dismissive handshake after her 6-4 4-6 6-1 defeat. She then posted on social media, “Tough battle out there last night … Congrats to Bianca … for a great performance and a well-deserved win.”

She’d given Andreescu the cold shoulder while providing the unsolicited character assessment that was picked up by courtside microphones. Kyrgios wrote on her Twitter timeline, “Bruh you said she is a drama queen and then post this.” He provided four laughing emojis for good measure. It was hardly anything new for Kyrgios to engage in drama, but probably the first time Kerber had been called “bruh”.

Bruh you said she is a drama queen and then post this 😂😂😂😂

— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) March 24, 2019

Then came Kyrgios versus Lajovic. Prime-time on centre court. It was after 10pm when they started. Kyrgios started quickly enough to suggest he wanted to be in bed, or out on the town, by midnight. Losing the doubles with Taylor Fritz a day earlier, he smashed a racquet and screamed at an official, “What the f..k is wrong with you?! “You’re a f..king disgrace. F..king disgrace.” Missing serves in the opening game against Lajovic, he shouted, “F..king first serve!” He missed a 225km/h second serve but hung on — and then ran wild. His underarm aces are controversial. They’re not illegal. But they’re regarded as poor sportsmanship. At 3-1 in the first set, Kyrgios bounced the ball and looked to be preparing for a normal serve. He tapped the ball over the net for an ace.

Quickly becoming his trademark...@NickKyrgios with the underarm ace 😂 pic.twitter.com/W5JbbE8n8V

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 25, 2019

Moments later, he heard the words that tipped him over the edge.

“Get a new haircut!”

When did he play his best? When things were most out-of-control. He won in 57 minutes, finishing well before midnight.