Kevin Anderson: Nick Kyrgios broke unwritten rule with unsportsmanlike serve

Michael Graham 02 Mar 2019 2:57 AM

Nick Kyrgios disinterested

Kevin Anderson has weighed in on the spat between Nick Kyrgios and Rafael Nadal, insisting that the Australian’s underarm serve ‘broke an unwritten rule’ in tennis.

Debate has raged in the tennis world since Kyrgios attempted – unsuccessfully – to utilise the underarm serve en-route to beating Nadal in Acapulco.

Nadal branded Kyrgios’ conduct ‘disrespectful’, while Roger Federer has come out in support of the controversial Aussie.

Kevin Anderson, the 2018 Wimbledon finalist, has now offered his opinions, and they appear far more sympathetic to Nadal.

“It’s funny how there is an unwritten rule or code that deems the underhand serve not sportsmanlike,” Anderson told the Beyond the Baseline podcast.

“I’ve played a few guys when they return from extremely far back, I sometimes think if that is something I can perfect it would be something worth bringing out.

“But I guess it is one those things that is not accepted by the tennis world.”