By Richard Pagliaro | Saturday, July 2, 2022
Nick Kyrgios can be a hell raiser or magic maker on court.
Today, the explosive Aussie was both.
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The mercurial Kyrgios rode his massive serve and major mind games to topple fourth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(7) in a wild, crazy and contentious Clash on Court No. 1.
Both men were hit with code violations as Court No. 1 felt like the octagon at times. Tsitsipas summed up this tennis tempest of sound and flurry as "a circus."
The match saw Kyrgios deploy the underarm tweener serve, some superb drop shots and near constant chatter that unnerved Tsitsipas. The Greek, who belted a ball into the stands and splattered another shot off the back wall, spent a few games trying to tag Kyrgios and eventually accomplished his mission drilling the Aussie in the chest.
It didn't end at match point.
It didn't end with the post-match handslap either.
Tsitsipas called Kyrgios out as a bully in his post-match presser, while Kyrgios claimed Tsitsipas "is not liked."
"It's constant bullying, that's what he does," Tsitsipas said.
Kyrgios laughed off the bullying charge saying "I did nothing towards Stefanos today that was disrespectful."
"I don't know what to say. I'm not sure how I bullied him," Kyrgios told the media. He was the one hitting balls at me, he was the one that hit a spectator, he was the one that smacked it out of the stadium. I didn't do anything.
"I was actually like -- apart from me just going back and forth to the umpire for a bit, I did nothing towards Stefanos today that was disrespectful, I don't think. I was not drilling him with balls."
A fired-up Kyrgios threw his entire arsenal—and nearly ever gamesmanship card in the deck—to beat the Greek for second time on grass in the last three weeks.
In a clash that crackled with emotional fireworks, Kyrgios created chaos in Tsitsipas' mind sending him over the edge at one point with his antics.
It was Kyrgios' fourth win in five meetings vs. Tsitsipas as the 2014 quarterfinalist improved to an ATP-best 10-2 on grass in 2022. Kyrgios' combination of profane outbursts and pickpocket's feel recalled another tatooed touch artist: his Laver Cup captain and BBC Wimbledon analyst John McEnroe, who knew how to use the art of the argument to unsettle an already edgy opponent.
Afterward, Kyrgios delivered a message for his critics and the media:I fill stadiums and bring buzz to the sport.
“Everywhere I go it’s full stadiums," Kyrgios said in his on-court intervew. "The media love to write that I’m bad for the sport, but clearly not."
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The victory comes less than three weeks after the explosive Kyrgios charged through 12 of the final 13 points stopping the second-seeded Tsitsipas 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 on the grass of Halle.
Krygios, the tennis version of Mayhem from the All State commercials, asserts tennis needs edgy personalities like his to shatter stodgy stereotypes and grow the game.
Tsitsipas counters Kyrgios, who spit in the direction of a taunting fan after his opening-round win over Paul Jubb, is a bully prone to degrading chair umpires and linespeople and disrespecting opponents with constant complaining.
"It makes no sense. You are out there to do your job," Tsitsipas said. "Tennis is "the" most important thing that we are doing out there.
"Every single point that I played today I feel like there was something going on on the other side of the net. I'm not trying to be distracted by that, because I know it might be intentional, because for sure he can play other way. And that's his way of manipulating the opponent and making you feel distracted, in a way.
"There is no other player that does this. There is no other player that is so upset and frustrated all the time with something. It triggers it so easy and so fast."
A frustrated Tsitsipas belted a ball into the crowd at one point, narrowly missing a fan, which prompted Kyrgios to ask the chair umpire default the Greek.
Afterward, Tsitsipas said he apologized to fans and conceded the Kyrgios circus caused him to snap.
"I think also he's part, you know, with all the circus show going on on the other side of the net," Tsitsipas said. "It started to become very tiring, in a way. You know, it's just like that happened. I didn't hit any people. It did hit the wall, thank God. For sure I'm never doing that again. It's my responsibility, for sure.
"But there was also something that created that behavior that I'm not used to see myself."
Kyrgios suggests Tsitsipas is simply spinning the blame to deflect responsibility and charged the Greek "he's got some serious issues, like serious" adding "he's not liked."
"I feel great. I don't know what he's -- like, the circus was all him today," Kyrgios said. "I actually felt great. I feel great physically now. I'm ready to go again if I need to play again tomorrow. I just think he's making that match about me, like he's got some serious issues, like serious.
"I'm good in the locker room. I've got many friends, just to let you know. I'm actually one of the most liked. I'm set. He's not liked. Let's just put that there. So anyway, no, I'm good. I feel good."
Photo credit: Getty