Nick Kyrgios begins the fight of his life against 20-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic – as the royals and world’s A-list watch on at Wimbledon
Nick Kyrgios has stepped on centre court of for the biggest tennis match of his life against Novak Djokovic.
The Australian world number 40 is vying to win his first ever grand slam and become the first Australian in 20 years to win the men’s title at Wimbledon.
It’s been 20 years since an Australian last won the Wimbledon men’s title when Lleyton Hewitt beat Argentine David Nalbandian.
Kyrgios holds an unbeaten 2-0 record against Djokovic, who’s vying his seventh Wimbledon and 21th grand slam title.
Members of the Royal Family and celebrities are in attendance including Prince William, Kate Winslet, Tom Cruise and Tom Hiddleston.
Kyrgios’ girlfriend Costeen Hatzi took to Instagram before the match to pay a glowing tribute.
‘The big day. Words cannot explain how proud I am of you. You are supported by so many and you never fail to show how talented, entertaining and resilient you are. Finals at Wimbledon, that is a huge achievement in itself. Your hard work and dedication is paying off. I am so lucky to be on this journey with you
Kyrgios replied: My baby. I appreciate you, no matter what this has been a hell of a ride. I love you.’
It’s been a drama-filled fortnight both on and off the court for Kyrgios in Wimbledon.
He was fined $10,000 towards a spectator during his epic first-round five set win against Paul Jubb.
Kyrgios breezed into the third round after a straight set win to set up a showdown with bitter fierce rival world number five Stefanos Tsitsipas
Both players received code violations for unsportsmanlike conduct during the spiteful clash won by Kyrgios in four sets.
At one point the Australian demanded his opponent be defaulted for hitting a ball into the stands and narrowly missing a spectator and briefly refused to play on unless Tsitsipas was thrown out of the tournament.
Tsitsipas was later slugged $A14,700 for hitting a ball into the stands which narrowly missed spectators while Kyrgios copped a $6,000 for his antics.
Hostilities intensified after the match when Tsitsipas labelled his opponent a bully in his post-match press conference as an ugly war of words exploded off-court .
The Greek star admitted trying to hit Kyrgios with the ball on several occasions and branded him ‘evil’ and a ‘bully’ after the match.
Kyrgios returned serve to label his bitter opponent as soft and bragged he has more friends in the locker room than Tsitsipas.
His quarter final preparations against Cristian Garin were disrupted when it was revealed his former girlfriend Chiara Passari had accused him of assault during an incident last last year.
Twenty-four hours later, Kyrgios eliminated the unseeded Chilean 6-4 6-3 7-6 (7-5) in two hours and 13 minutes to book a semi-final showdown with Rafa Nadal.
Kyrgios automatically progressed to Sunday’s final after Nadal withdrew before the match due to injury.
Kyrgios has won $14,498,244 during his career and reached a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 13 in October 2016.
Just three years ago, Kyrgios was battling his mental health demons.
‘This was me three years ago at the Australian Open,’ Kyrgios began a remarkable confession on Instagram, sharing a picture, before he played Rafael Nadal in Melbourne.
‘Most would assume I was doing OK mentally or enjoying my life… it was one of my darkest periods. If you look closely, on my right arm you can see my self harm.
‘I was having suicidal thoughts and was literally struggling to get out of bed, let alone play in front of millions. I was lonely, depressed, negative, abusing alcohol, drugs, pushed away family & friends. I felt as if I couldn’t talk or trust anyone.
‘This was a result of not opening up and refusing to lean on my loved ones and simply just push myself little by little to be positive.’
Demanding a BEER on court, mimicking a sex act, trying to hit Rafael Nadal and partying ahead of a Wimbledon exit… Nick Kyrgios’ most outrageous moments both on and off the court after calling an umpire ‘an absolute CLOWN’
By Charlotte Daly for MailOnline
Slating the music at the Australian Open in 2016
The 2016 Australian Open was a bit of a disaster for Kyrgios. He complained about the music, swore excessively and threw his racket across the court during his loss to Tomas Berdych.
Berdych took the first set in 35 minutes, with Kyrgios appearing to complain towards his box – which contained Aussie great Lleyton Hewitt – that there was not enough vocal encouragement.
However, the most notable moment of the match came when Kyrgios stepped up to the line to serve in the second set. He stopped to complain about music he could hear, which is understood to have come from the neighbouring MCG which was hosting cricket’s Big Bash League semi-final.
The 2016 Australian Open was a disaster for Kyrgios – who complained about everything
If that wasn’t enough, Kyrgios then engaged in a heated exchange with British umpire James Keothavong. Their conversation was picked up by the courtside microphones and it’s safe to say it didn’t shower Kyrgios in glory.
He said: ‘Mate, are you OK? There’s music playing in the crowd while we are playing. I’ve told you seven times. Am I hearing things? Am I hearing things? Mate, it’s a circus.’
Berdych then served out for a two-set lead as Kyrgios continued to moan as he sat down on his courtside chair, muttering: ‘It’s a f****** joke.’
Kyrgios went on to lose the match 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 and criticise the chair umpire further – saying ‘you’re a terrible referee’ as he walked off the court.
He complained about the music, swore excessively, fought with the chair umpire and threw his racket across the court during his loss to Tomas Berdych
Throwing a tantrum over the colour of his towel
You never quite know which Kyrgios will be turning up on court. He can either be fun and playful or aggressive and short tempered. Unfortunately for the staff at the 2019 Rogers Cup, it was the latter.
During his clash with Kyle Edmund, Kyrgios demanded that he was given a white towel, as opposed to a tournament-branded one. (Talk about being a diva!)
The 26-year-old refused to take part in the match until he was presented with a pristine new towel and caused quite the fuss on court while he waited.
‘I just want to know why it took you so long to get a white towel,’ Kyrgios asked officials. ‘Took you 20 minutes for this one. 20 minutes. Oh, you brought me two. Thanks.’
During his clash with Kyle Edmund, Kyrgios demanded that he was given a white towel
Caught out partying prior to his Wimbledon 2019 exit
Kyrgios has always been known for his controversial antics on court, but this incident questioned his decision-making off the court.
The Australian bad boy of tennis was seen at the Dog & Fox Pub in Wimbledon until around 11pm the night before his second-round match with Rafael Nadal in 2019.
Kyrgios was seen socialising with friends and chatting to girls at the pub on the Wednesday evening, according to sports commentator Miguel Seabra.
He wrote: ‘I just had a toast with Nick Kyrgios at the Dog & Fox. He is completely relaxed, laughing with friends, chatting with girls, drinking.
‘Quite an unorthodox preparation for tomorrow’s blockbuster, uh? I like it.’
It comes a no surprise that Kyrgios crashed out of the tournament. However, instead of reflecting on his defeat…the Australian bad-boy headed straight back to the pub to wash away his misery.
Demanding a beer on court at the 2017 French Open
Kyrgios crashed out of the 2017 French Open in spectacular form, smashing two racquets and asking for a beer mid-match.
The Australian star bombed out of the season’s second Grand slam in Paris with a 5-7 6-4 6-1 6-2 second-round loss to South African star Kevin Anderson.
Kyrgios was visibly frustrated during the match and even asked a spectator to get him a beer after losing serve in the fourth set.
‘Get me a beer now. Honest to God, get me one now,’ he said. A spectator responded: ‘You’re kidding.’ Kyrgios said: ‘I don’t think so.’
Kyrgios entered the tournament under a fitness cloud – and hip and shoulder niggles undoubtedly contributed to his demise as the then-22-year-old coughed up an uncharacteristic nine double-faults in the four-set defeat.
Additionally, Kyrgios had just lost his Grandpa – making it somewhat of an emotional torment for more reasons than one.
Kyrgios crashed out of the 2017 French Open in spectacular form after smashing two rackets
The ‘bad-boy’ also asked a spectator to get him a beer after losing serve in the fourth set
Blaming his defeat on a ‘hot chick’ in the stands
Kyrgios is known for interacting with the crowd while on court. However, it never normally impacts his performance.
The Australian bad-boy joked he had lost concentration during his 2019 Laver Cup defeat by Rodger Federer because he had spotted a ‘really hot chick in the crowd’.
The controversial 26-year-old was unable to hold off a rousing comeback from the Swiss great in Geneva, eventually being overcome 6-7 (5-7), 7-5, 10-7 after one hour and 51 minutes.
Kyrgios gave an amusing post-match interview after he had informed his team of the reason behind his poor performance.
He could be heard saying: ‘I lost concentration, I saw a really hot chick in the crowd. Like, I’m being genuinely honest – I’d marry her right now. Right now.’
Kyrgios joked he had lost concentration as he had spotted a ‘really hot chick in the crowd’
Kyrgios could be heard explaining the reason behind his poor patch to his team on the bench
Throwing a chair at the Italian Open in 2019
The day after giving an explosive interview in which he admitted he ‘can’t stand’ the ‘cringeworthy’ Novak Djokovic, Kyrgios was guilty of one of his worst meltdown’s to date.
He hurled a chair onto the court at the 2019 Italian Open and kicked a bottle during an extraordinary outburst. His actions overshadowed iconic moments such as Jo Konta claiming back-to-back victories over Venus Williams and Sloane Stephens to reach the quarter finals.
Kyrgios was issued with a fine of £17,000 after losing the plot against Norway’s Casper Ruud when he was given a game penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Playing on a noisy outside court at the Foro Italico, Kyrgios was triggered by the crowd and became involved in an exchange with officials after being made to forfeit a game to go 2-1 down in the decider.
Having angrily hurled his racket to the floor he threw the fold-up chair onto the playing surface and then went into an expletive-filled rant, shouting at the chair: ‘I am giving 100 per cent to deal with f****** idiots like him, I’m done. I’m f****** done. I’m f****** done with it. I don’t give a f***.’
He then put his bag over his shoulder and walked off court of his own accord, but was officially defaulted from the match.
Kyrgios lost his temper at the 2019 Italian Open, smashing his racket and kicking a water bottle
Kyrgios then picked up a seat from courtside and hurled that into the centre of the court
Telling Stan Wawrinka a friend ‘banged his girlfriend’
Kyrgios got himself into hot water once again after brutally trash-talking his Swiss opponent, Stan Wawrinka, during a second-round clash at the 2015 Montreal Masters.
In a remark picked up by a courtside microphone, Kyrgios told third-seeded Wawrinka that a teenage Australian player, Thanasi Kokkinakis, slept with his girlfriend.
‘Kokkinakis banged your girlfriend,’ he said, midway through the second set. ‘Sorry to tell you that, mate’.
Kyrgios was referring to his Davis Cup team-mate Kokkinakis, while Wawrinka was romantically linked with Donna Vekic.
Wawrinka, who was the reigning Australian and French Open champion, was not happy with Kyrgios and took to Twitter after the match to condemn his actions.
He said: ‘So disappointing to see a fellow athlete and colleague be so disrespectful in a way could never even imagine. To [stoop] so low is not only unacceptable but also beyond belief’.
As a result of his questionable court-etiquette, Kyrgios was fined £10,000 and handed a 28-day suspended sentence.
Abusing hecklers and calling out Ben Stiller
Kyrgios lost to the 2022 Australian Open champion Nadal in a three-set thriller at Indian Wells. He was beaten 7-6 (7-0), 5-7, 6-4 to end an extraordinary tournament.
However, it was Kyrgios’ tantrum that caught everyone’s attention. Kyrgios’ most memorable outburst of the match came when he singled out Ben Stiller – who was watching from the stands with wife Christine Taylor – to deal with a heckler.
The extraordinary exchange went like this:
Kyrgios: ‘Are you good at tennis?’
Heckler: ‘No.’
Kyrgios: ‘Exactly, so don’t tell me how to play. [Pointing at Stiller and his wife who were sitting nearby] Do I tell him how to act? No.’
Kyrgios stopped his service to address a heckler in the stands during the third and final set at Indian Wells
Actor Ben Still and wife Christine Taylor found the funny side of Kyrgios’ antics after being drawn into his tirade at a heckler in the crowd
Dropping F-bomb after beating Ruud at Indian Wells
Kyrgios has had a long-standing rivalry with Casper Ruud – having previously defaulted from the the Italian Open in 2019 for throwing a chair onto the court in the final set of their clash.
Kyrgios ensured that he got the last laugh over Ruud in March 2022 – defeating the 23-year-old 6-4 ,6-4 in a ruthless performance to advance in California.
The Australian went on to taunt his opponent after emerging victorious. He was filmed saying: ‘I hear no talking now. I hear no talking now. None. F***ing none.’
However, Kyrgios later took to Instagram to apologise for his comments – admitting that emotions got the better of him during the match.
Kyrgios launched the F-bomb at old rival Casper Ruud after his win earlier this month
Kyrgios looked down the camera lens and said ‘I hear no talking now’ after his superb victory
Outburst at the chair umpire Fergus Murphy in 2019
He just can’t help himself can he? Kyrgios was fined £98,904 for smashing two racquets and calling the chair umpire a ‘f**king tool at the Cincinnati Masters in 2019.
The ATP announced the penalties on the day after the tennis bad-boy berated chair umpire Fergus Murphy during a straight sets loss to Karen Khachanov.
The ATP listed a breakdown of eight fines ranging from £2,282 to £15,216 each for violations such as unsportsmanlike conduct, verbal abuse and audible obscenity.
Kyrgios (right) was fined £98,904 for smashing two racquets and calling the chair umpire (left) a ‘f**king tool at the Cincinnati Masters in 2019
Mimicking a lewd sex act at Queen’s, 2018
You think Kyrgios would know by now that cameras are everywhere at these sort of events!
The 26-year-old was caught mimicking a crude sex act with a water bottle during a break in games at the Marin Cilic at Queen’s.
The live footage of what he thought was a private moment between himself and his player’s box was broadcast to homes across the world.
Kyrgios held his drink bottle towards his groin and appeared to pretend to masturbate.
After playing around with his drink bottle he then finished off by spraying water onto the ground and taking a sip before sharing a cheeky grin. He was fined £13,000.
Earlier in the week he shouted out ‘f***’ during his match against Kyle Edmund, forcing BBC commentary to apologise for the foul language.
His response when it was raised afterwards? ‘Fine. I don’t care’.
Kyrgios was caught on live TV mimicking a lewd sex act with a water bottle at Queen’s
Refusing to try at Shanghai, 2016
Accusations of tanking have followed Kyrgios throughout his career. He was booed at Wimbledon in 2015 for a lack of effort in returning serves from Richard Gasquet.
Fans hoped their furious reaction would teach Kyrgios a lesson, but it seemed to do little good as he did not return shots and served without effort at the Shanghai Masters just one year later.
At one point he patted a serve over the net and at another he was walking off court before his opponent, Mischa Zverev, had returned the ball.
When told to act professionally by umpire Ali Nili after swearing, he responded: ‘Can you call time so I can finish this match and go home?’.
Kyrgios was issued with a three-month ban and a £20,500 fine but he made no apologies for his conduct after the match, even taking aim at the fans.
‘I don’t owe them [the fans] anything. It’s my choice. If you don’t like it, I didn’t ask you to come watch. Just leave. You want to buy a ticket? Come watch me.
‘You know I’m unpredictable. It’s your choice. I don’t owe you anything. Doesn’t affect how I sleep at night.’
Against Mischa Zverev in Shanghai in 2016 Kyrgios refused to serve properly or return shots
He was even seen walking off the court before Zverev had returned his serve to win the point
Taking a phone call on court at Australian Open, 2016
Before a mixed doubles match in Melbourne five years ago Kyrgios answered a phone call as he sat down with partner Ajla Tomljanovic.
He could have let it go to voicemail. He could have switched it off. He could have left it in the locker room. But no, he decided to answer it on court.
For once Kyrgios escaped punishment, but eyebrows were still raised after this indiscretion, with many questioning his professionalism and commitment to the sport.
Officials investigated the incident, which had left Tomljanovic thoroughly bemused, but he avoided sanction because it was pre-match.
‘Some of my friends called me,’ Kyrgios said. When asked if it was something important, he replied: ‘Kind of, not really’.
Kyrgios took a phone call from a friend before a mixed doubles match in Melbourne in 2016
Pelting a tennis racket at ball boy
Kyrgios’ gags are usually harmless but he came extremely close to causing some serious damage when he lost his temper at Indian Wells in March 2022.
Kyrgios was forced to apologies to the ball boy he nearly hit with a tennis racket after his quarterfinal defeat to Rafa Nadal. The Aussie star fell 7-6 (7-0), 5-7, 6-4 and lost his temper immediately after the match.
He launched his racket at the wall of the arena – leaving ball boy Tei Park ducking for cover. Overnight, Kyrgios sheepishly took to Instagram to find out the identity of the ball boy and apologise.
Sharing a post to his story, Kyrgios said: ‘I just want to apologise to that ball kid at the end of the match.
‘It was a complete accident and was frustrated at the end of the match. My racket took a crazy bounce and was never my intention. If anyone knows who that ball kid is, send me a message and I will send a racket to him. I’m glad he’s OK!’
Kyrgios was forced to apologies to the ball boy he nearly hit with a tennis racket after his quarter-final defeat to Rafa Nadal at Indian Wells 2022
Purposefully aims a ball at Rafael Nadal
Kyrgios confessed he was aiming to hit Nadal with the ball during their second-round match at Wimbledon in 2019. The Australian even refused to apologise for deliberately thrashing a forehand directly at his opponent in their ill-tempered grudge match at Wimbledon.
The tennis bad-boy admitted he was ‘going for him’ and told a press conference after his four set defeat: ‘I wanted to hit him square in the chest.’
He said: ‘I don’t care. Why would I apologise? I mean, the dude has got how many slams, how much money in the bank account? I think he can take a ball to the chest. I’m not going to apologise to him at all.’
His confession has sparked an angry backlash on social media, with fans calling for the ‘spoiled brat’ to be fined or ‘banned’ from the sport.
Kyrgios said he was aiming to hit Nadal with the ball during their 2019 clash at Wimbledon
The Spaniard (furthest away) managed to stop the ball from hitting his body with his racquet
Ignoring questions and chugging a Stella Artois
Kyrgios showcased his bizarre behaviour once again during a press conference 2019. He ignored a reporter’s question in favour of drinking a beer.
Kyrgios had been playing for Team World who lost to Team Europe during the Laver Cup in Geneva, Switzerland.
After the final tie between Milos Raonic and Alexander Zverev, Kyrgios attended a press conference joined by team captain and US tennis legend John McEnroe.
Kyrgios was angry about a question regarding his loss to Roger Federer during the competition and opted to drink he beer rather than answer.
However, when promoted, he said: ‘Probably just had to do with something that I was playing someone that’s probably the best to ever play the sport.
‘I don’t think it was a lack of shot selection or lack of discipline or lack of power or lack of anything. I think the guy I was playing was just pretty good. Don’t you think so? Yeah. It’s a pretty bad question, to be honest.’
He decided to chug a beer over answering a reporter’s question during a press conference
Brands Bernard Tomic ‘dumb’ and ‘irrelevant’ in long-running feud – as rival challenges him to a boxing match
Last month Kyrgios poured cold water on a potential boxing bout with arch rival Bernard Tomic, insisting he has ‘bigger fish to fry’ than taking on the ‘dead broke’ World No 417.
The Australian tennis duo have been embroiled in a war of words for years and their feud escalated even further last month after Kyrgios labelled Tomic ‘the most hated athlete in Australia’.
Tomic, 29, responded by challenging Kyrgios, 27, to a one-off battle on the grass court, with each player stumping up $1million in a winner-takes-all clash.
The 29-year-old then changed the arena of their battle to the boxing ring, demanding that they ‘sort this out as men’.
Yet Kyrgios has distanced himself from a boxing debut, with the Canberra-born star expressing sympathy for Tomic, who in 2016 reached a career-high ranking of No 17.
‘He’s not very good anymore, he’s not relevant anymore, and he’s obviously got money issues,’ Kyrgios told the Courier Mail.
‘For someone who actually tried to stand up for him before and tried to help him out, like my family’s helped him out before, I paid for his flights back home from Shanghai because he had no money. So for him to come out and attack is extremely disrespectful I think.
‘When he’s challenging me for boxing matches – like first of all, I don’t know who’s going to put up $1 million for him because he’s dead broke. Second of all, I have bigger fish to fry at the moment. I’m trying to get ready for Wimbledon. US Open. I’ve got off court contracts, tournaments still pay me to show up.
‘And I don’t think that’s happening for him at the moment. But maybe one day, I would love to challenge him in there. I feel like I’ve got him on fitness.’
Tomic has rubbished Kyrgios’ claims.
Source: Read Full Article
