Australia tennis star Nick Kyrgios is known for his on-field antics, as he has often engaged in verbal spats with his opponents and umpires during matches. Even though, the 24-year-old has shown that he is starting to come of age, and has gained fan following with his calm demeanour in the past few weeks, he did lose his temper on Saturday during the five-set thriller against Russia’s Karen Khachanov, as he screamed at the umpire for giving him a time violation in the middle of the match.
The incident happened during the fourth set when both players were tied at 4-4. Kyrgios returned a wide shot from Khachanov, but he took a tumble, and went rolling on the ground. His opponent could not get to the ball in the time, and the Australian got the point.
Despite getting the point, the Australian suffered an injury in the attempt, and went to his corner to wipe off the blood. He did not give the towel to the ball kid, but went back to his side to keep it there on the bench. The umpire Renaud Lichtenstein deemed the moment as a “wastage of time” and called a time violation.
Kyrgios did not like the decision and screamed at the umpire: “My hand is bleeding. My hand is bleeding. What do you want me to do?” he said.
“There’s blood all over the towel. I told the ball kid not to touch it. That’s all I said. What are you, stupid? Can you not see? Well, take it back then. Why do I get a time violation? My hand’s bleeding,” he added.
Kyrgios managed to keep his cool in the rest of the game and won the five-set thriller 6-2, 7-6, 6-7, 6-7, 7-6 to set up a delicious encounter against World no. Rafael Nadal in the fourth round.
Source: HindustanTimes