September

Kyrgios Blasts Becker

Social media sparring partners Nick Kyrgios and Boris Becker are right back in the swing of things.The bickering adversaries reignited their feud on social media.More: Djokovic's Bubble WrapIt all began innocently enough with Kyrgios posting an image of himself back in the Laver Cup days along with the caption "different breed."Seeing his opening, Becker landed an initial blow posting in response "in your dreams."

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Different breed.

A post shared by Nick Kyrgios (@k1ngkyrg1os) on

In response, Kyrgios turned the other cheek, extended an olive branch and invited the Hall of Famer out for pizza.Just kidding.In response, Kyrgios hit Becker where it hurts: the wallet. Referencing the former world No. 1's recent financial woes, Kyrgios replied "He’s gone from wanting to coach me, obviously for his desperate need of a pay check, to hating on my Instagram. Strange world we live in." It's the latest in an ongoing social media skirmish between the pair.Last June, Becker called Kyrgios "a rat" in response to Kyrgios' criticism of the Novak Djokovic-led Adria Tour and its failure to follow social distancing and masking in the face of the Coronavirus.Kyrgios called playing the Djokovic-led Tour "a boneheaded decision" and ripped into Zverev after video of the German partying on the French Riviera emerged. “How selfish can you be?” Kyrgios said. “If you have the audacity to f****** put out a tweet that you made your management write on your behalf, saying you are going to self-isolate for 14 days, and apologizing to the general public for putting their health at risk, at least have the audacity to stay inside for 14 days.”Becker, who previously coached Djokovic, tweeted today he opposes "rats" and tagged Kyrgios clearly knocking the 25-year-old Aussie for his earlier criticism of Djokovic and Zverev."Don’t like no rats!" Becker wrote. "Anybody telling off fellow sportsman/woman is no friend of mine! Look yourself in the mirror and think your better than us… @NickKyrgios."
Former world No. 1 Becker acknowledged the danger of coronavirus before doubling down and again blasting Kyrgios as "a rat" tagging him for good measure."We all live in the pandemic called #Covid_19!" Becker replied. "It’s terrible and it killed to many lives…we should protect our families/loved ones and follow the guidelines but still don’t like #rats @NickKyrgios." "Rats? For holding someone accountable?" Kyrgios replied. "Strange way to think of it champion, I’m just looking out for people. WHEN my family and families all over the world have respectfully done the right thing. And you have a goose waving his arms around, imma say something." Kyrgios quickly took off the gloves, branding Becker "a bigger doughnut than I thought…" and "obviously not the sharpest tool in the shed." Perhaps Becker sees himself in Kyrgios. in a Eurosport interview last season, Becker picked Kyrgios as the player who most reminds him of himself.Becker, who previously coached Djokovic, and was regarded as the most dominant server and one of the most explosive players of his era, chose Kyrgios as his stylistic successor."I think all our styles were very particular and I have a hard time thinking about: who would be most like me in his attitude," Becker says at 15:45 of the video.
"I look at you and I am thinking of Kyrgios," Ivan Lendl told Becker."I was just thinking the same thing," Becker said. "No, no honestly. I'm talking about how he sets up the point with the quick points, the serve and forehand, trying to keep the points short and everything. Getting the crowd involved, obviously keeping my mouth shut a lot longer than he does. But that mentality was similar to mine."While both McEnroe and Lendl say Stefanos Tsitsipas remind them more of Becker than Kyrgios, Becker himself does not buy it."I don't see anybody else like that, the way I played, the way I felt on court… I feel (Tsitsipas) is not as explosive, not as dangerous, I find Nick, on a good night, dangerous. I find with Stefanos he could do a lot more with the serve and play bigger."Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve ]]>

Richard Pagliaro

Richard Pagliaro is Tennis Now Managing Editor. He is a graduate of New York University and has covered pro tennis for more than 35 years. Richard was tennis columnist for Gannett Newspapers in NY, served as Managing Editor for TennisWeek.com and worked as a writer/editor for Tennis.com. He has been TennisNow.com managing editor since 2010.

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