“It’s constant bullying, that’s what it does,” the Greek fourth seed said in a post-match press conference after his third-round match.
“He bullies opponents. He was probably a bully at school himself. I don’t like bullies.
“His character also has some good traits.
“But … he also has a very bad side which, if exposed, can actually do a lot of harm and worse to those around him.”
Mercurial Aussies won the match 6–7 (2/7), 6–4, 6–3, 7–6 (9/7) during which both players were handed a code violation by the umpire.
Kyrgios also demanded that Tsitsipas be defaulted for hitting the ball into the crowd.
Tsitsipas admitted that he deliberately hit the ball at Kyrgios on stage in an attempt to pacify the Australian.
“I was aiming for my opponent’s body, but I missed a lot,” he said.
“It needs to stop. It’s not okay. Somebody needs to sit down and talk to him. I’m not used to playing like this.
“But I can’t just sit there, act like a robot and act like someone who is completely cold and ignorant.
He said, “It felt like a circus. You get tired of constantly talking, constantly complaining.”
Kyrgios said at his own news conference that he understands why Tsitsipas would be upset after having lost twice in recent weeks, including at Halle.
“Maybe he should figure out how to beat me a couple more first and then reach for that,” he said.
Kyrgios claimed that he was the victim of bullying on the court.
“I’m not sure how I bullied him. He was the one to hit me, he was the one who hit the spectators, he was the one who hit him out of the stadium. I didn’t do anything.
Stefanos ‘Soft’
“I didn’t do anything to Stefanos today that was disrespectful.”
“He’s soft on coming here and saying I bullied him. We’re not cut from the same cloth. If he’s affected by it, that’s what’s holding him back,” he said.
After stamping his victory, the 2014 quarterfinalist said that he had envisioned his chances to get into the match after his recent win against the fourth seed on grass in Germany.
“He’s one hell of a player. He knows how to beat me – he’s beaten me once,” said the 40th-ranked Australian, who now has a 4-1 win record against the Greek.
“It’s amazing, wherever I go I feel like I have entire stadiums. The media likes to say I’m bad for the game but clearly I’m not.”
Kyrgios, who received a warning of obscenity, did not lose his serve throughout the match, saving all five of his break points and winning 81 percent of his first-served points.
play
There was no sign of drama coming when 23-year-old Tsitsipas tied-break in the first set.
But the match was devastated when a frustrated Tsitsipas hit the ball into the crowd after losing the second set, for which he received a warning.
Kyrgios said Tsitsipas should be kicked out of Wimbledon, recalling the incident at the US Open in 2020 when Novak Djokovic missed the tournament after hitting the line judge with a ball.
In surprising scenes, the Australian called the umpire an “insult”, demanded to speak to supervisors and said he would not continue until the situation was resolved.
“You can’t hit the ball in the crowd and hit someone and not default,” he said.
Tsitsipas left Court at that time but returned in an increasingly volatile atmosphere on Court One.
Kyrgios, now clearly on top against troubled Tsitsipas, broke in the fourth game of the third set.
Later in the set, Tsitsipas was awarded a point penalty for hitting the ball in frustration at the back of the court after Kyrgios served an underarm.
The 2019 ATP Finals champions appeared to shoot in the direction of the Australian, while Kyrgios continued to talk between the points and swung the crowd 5-3 after a winning drop shot.
Kyrgios won the set and immediately put pressure on Tsitsipas at the start of the fourth set but none of the players could take a break, despite several chances.
A 4–4 game was suspended for the ceiling being closed and the match went into a nail-biting tie-break.
Tsitsipas had set up points to level the match, but Kyrgios was on top when his opponent netted after a drop shot.
The Australian will take on 20-year-old American Brandon Nakashima, world number 56, in the last 16.
No comments:
Post a Comment