Nick Kyrgios doubles down on criticism of chair umpire: ‘He made it about himself’
There was no backtracking from Nick Kyrgios following his run-in with chair umpire Carlos Bernardes at the Miami Open, saying the official was “becoming the centre of attention” during his match against Jannik Sinner.
It was a bad-tempered evening for Kyrgios as he crashed out of the ATP Masters 1000 event in the fourth round, going down 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 against the Italian.
He was handed a point penalty at the end of the first set after smashing his racket. At the beginning of the second set he was docked a game after smashing his racket again and he then took a selfie with a fan who ran onto the court.
Nick Kyrgios vents online after heated match as he tells critic ‘no one gives a flying f*** about your opinion’
The Australian then went on a lengthy on-court rant, shouting: “Get a new set of referees, these guys don’t know how to do s***.
“Walky-talkies going off. It’s a joke. He is a joke. Get rid of every single staff and start over. Everything. I will run the sport. I could do 100x a better job. Marketing. Everything. You guys have no idea. None. You guys can’t even ref right.”
And there was no sign of him apologising for his behaviour after the match and he stuck to his guns during his post-match press conference.
“I just don’t think [Bernardes] controls the crowd well at all,” he told AFP. “For the point penalty, all I said to my team was that Matthew Reid, an ex-player, could do just as good a job. If that’s worth a point penalty at a Masters event, that is ridiculous in my opinion.
“When everyone in the crowd is booing an umpire and he is becoming the centre of attention, that is not his job. No one in the stadium came to see him talk or do what he does.
“You’ve got Jannik Sinner who is one of our greatest stars and, not to toot my horn, the majority of people are there to watch me play. And you have a guy talking while I was 40-0 up. He was talking. I was like ‘what are you doing?’ The crowd actually hated him that much they told him to be quiet.
“If you are getting booed by the crowd you are not doing a good job. He made it about himself and apparently his feelings were hurt from what I said and the crowd said. You can’t be like that if you’re an umpire.”
Latest
-
Tennis News
Alexander Zverev just happy to be back competing against the best
Alexander Zverev has said that he savours being competitive in big tournaments.
-
Tennis News
WTA star announces that she is expecting a baby girl
Alison Riske-Amritraj will be having a daughter.
-
ATP Tour
Jannik Sinner breaks new ground for an Italian player with $20 million milestone
Jannik Sinner will become the first Italian player to bank $20 million in ATP Tour prize money after the Miami Open.
-
Tennis News
Carlos Alcaraz identifies key Grigor Dimitrov threat as he seeks revenge in Miami showdown
Carlos Alcaraz and Grigor Dimitrov have looked ahead to their Miami Open match.
-
WTA Tour
Charleston Open hand former No 1 wildcard to start her clay season
Wildcards were forthcoming for former world No 1 Caroline Wozniacki, world No 13 Beatriz Haddad Maia, and Charleston-native Shelby Rogers.
-
Tennis News
Former world No 1 weighs in on Iga Swiatek’s ‘aura’ as he makes ‘intimidating’ claim
“The more accomplishments Iga Swiatek has, the more intimidating it is to play her.”
-
WTA Tour
Naomi Osaka’s clay swing fills out with Rouen wildcard
Naomi Osaka gets Rouen wildcard to kickstart her clay swing.
-
WTA Tour
Danielle Collins balks at being asked to explain retirement
Danielle Collins has responded to those who question why she has decided to retire from tennis at the end of the current season.
-
Tennis News
‘Novak Djokovic’s problem is psychological’, assesses Roger Federer’s former coach
“Undoubtedly, ‘Nole’ must have fire inside, otherwise he is missing something.”
-
Tennis News
Daniil Medvedev discusses his popularity compared to Carlos Alcaraz as he offers a theory
“For me, the result is the most important, it’s more important than, let’s say, looking good on the court.”