Toni Nadal sides with ‘rude and annoying’ Nick Kyrgios in Stefanos Tsitsipas row

Wimbledon
Nick Kyrgios antics

Prominent coach Toni Nadal has sided with Nick Kyrgios in the public debate over his match against Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Officials ruled that both men breached conditions of play and they copped fines for their actions.

Kyrgios got the leaner fine of the two after the dust settled and the uncle and erstwhile coach of Rafael Nadal believes that Tsitsipas has himself to blame for his meltdown.

Nadal believes that Tsitsipas allowed his emotions to run away with him.

In a Spanish newspaper column, Nadal labelled Kyrgios as rude and annoying but insisted that he was not to blame for the fiasco that was his match with Tsitsipas.

Nick Kyrgios
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Nick Kyrgios shake hands after their third round match.

“On some occasions, I have been critical of the Australian as a result of his rudeness, his unsportsmanlike attitudes, his recurrent outbursts or his unfortunate comments,” he wrote in El Pais.

“On this occasion, however, I think the blunder…is attributable to the Greek.

“It is true that Kyrgios is annoying, provocative and that he can easily drive his opponents out of their mind. However, I was greatly surprised Tsitsipas couldn’t deal with those situations.

“It is clear that Tsitsipas acted to his own detriment, lacking in the habit of dealing with those situations in which a player feels….unable to control his emotions and his nervousness.”

Toni Nadal’s current charge, Félix Auger-Aliassime, bombed out of Wimbledon in the first round despite being handed a sixth seeding.

Auger-Aliassime has delivered a mixed bag this season after threatening to enjoy a breakout campaign.

Meanwhile, a number of other younger players have snatched a spot in the spotlight from Carlos Alcaraz to Jannik Sinner and Holger Rune.

Kyrgios remains in contention for the Wimbledon title having battled past Brandon Nakashima to reach the last eight for the second time.

Should he get past Cristian Garin in the last eight, Kyrgios could go on to face Nadal in the last four with the Spaniard still chasing the calendar Slam.

Nadal will have to get past the man who terminated his winning streak in the Indian Wells final earlier this season, Taylor Fritz, with the American’s power game posing a huge threat on grass.

Nick Kyrgios

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