“Do you understand how hard it is?” Nick Kyrgios lashes out at top journalist who criticized Carlos Alcaraz
Nick Kyrgios bashed a tennis journalist for claiming that women's Grand Slams were much more difficult than men's.
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Nick Kyrgios slams Ben Rothenberg (images via Getty, NY Post)
Nick Kyrgios slammed top American sports journalist Ben Rothenberg for his criticism of Carlos Alcaraz’s second-round loss at the 2024 US Open. The former New York Times writer claimed that Alcaraz fumbled many chances he had against Botic van de Zandschulp and opined that women’s Grand Slams are harder to win as they have less leeway to stage comebacks owing to the shorter match formats.
In reply, Kyrgios pointed to Dan Evans’ incredible comeback against Karen Khachanov in the first round of the US Open and said that men’s Grand Slam events are extremely demanding. That was the longest match in US Open history and Evans came back from 0-4, 15-40 down in the final set to edge past Khachanov 6-7(6), 7-6(2), 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-4. It lasted five hours and 35 minutes, a whopping two hours and two minutes longer than the longest women’s match at the American Slam.
Next time someone tries to tell you it’s “harder” to win a men’s slam than a women’s because of best of five, show them this match. No woman could afford playing so badly for so long as Alcaraz is tonight. He has so much rope, and he’s tying some goofy knots with it right now.Ben Rothenberg said on X
In response to this post, Kyrgios questioned Rothenberg’s physical qualifications and expressed that the journalist wouldn’t understand the demands of the sport.
Bruh just stop at this point. Evans & Khachanov’s first match. agree there is not as much room for error at TIMES. But clearly you haven’t been involved in much physical activity? Do you understand how hard it is to play for 5 and a half hours in that heat Ben?Nick Kyrgios said on X
Bruh just stop at this point. Evans & Khachanov’s first match ? I agree there is not as much room for error at TIMES. But clearly you haven’t been involved in much physical activity? Do you understand how hard it is to play for 5 and a half hours in that heat Ben? ??♂️
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) August 30, 2024
Ben Rothenberg stuck in huge lawsuit filed against him by Alexander Zverev
Alexander Zverev’s battle against domestic abuse allegations by two of his former girlfriends seemed to have come to an end in June when the German came to a settlement with them. After that, Zverev filed defamation cases against the magazine which published the story that brought the allegations into the limelight along with its writer Ben Rothenberg.
In 2020, Rothenberg, the author of Naomi Osaka’s biography, interviewed Olga Sharypova, who was Zverev’s girlfriend between 2018 and 2019. He published her claims about Zverev physically harassing her through the ‘Racquet Magazine’ and followed the initial article up with another one a year later.
Zverev, who has seemingly avoided getting charged in the German courts, has filed a defamation case against both the magazine and Rothenberg. The journalist has stated that he stands by what he wrote and has had to rely on crowdfunding to cover the legal fees he is having to bear.
In case you missed it!
- Carlos Alcaraz considering “changing” some aspects of his game after his early exit from the US Open
- Carlos Alcaraz admits he “couldn’t control” his emotions during his loss to Botic van de Zandschulp at the US Open
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