Former tennis player slams ‘cocky’ Nick Kyrgios for playing dirty tennis against Stefanos Tsitsipas
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Nick Kyrgios and Stefanos Tsitsipas
Former Russian tennis player Nadia Petrova has slammed Nick Kyrgios for his dirty tricks on-court. She agrees with Stefanos Tsitsipas’ mother, who called out the Australian tennis star for his antics against his son at Wimbledon in 2022. Nadia Petrova calls Nick Kyrgios a ‘cocky’ guy, who can go on to frustrate any opponent he faces.
Stefanos Tsitsipas’ mother, Julia, earlier stated that no player on the ATP tour rattles his son like Nick Kyrgios. She also stated that the Wimbledon finalist had the ability to bring out the worst of even the calmest and most composed players.
“I agree with Tsitsipas’ mother. This is an individual sport, so there can be such anger at each other. But Kyrgios can bring it out of anyone, even the most cool-blooded,” said Petrova.
Nick Kyrgios is notoriously known for his random underarm serves, which have been taken as a mark of disrespect on a couple of occasions. The Australian has had a few altercations with Rafael Nadal in the past, particularly at Acapulco Open in 2019. Nadia Petrova spoke about how Rafael Nadal was triggered by Nick Kyrgios’ underarm service. “Nadal was p***ed off by his behavior how many times,” she said.
“He plays for the audience,” Nadia Petrova criticizes Nick Kyrgios
Nadia Petrova stated that Nick Kyrgios finds motivation from those cheering for him in the audience. Although, she has no problem with him putting on a show for the audience, yet the Russian believes that Nick Kyrgios crosses the line a bit too often.
Nadia Petrova reckons that Nick Kyrgios does not respect his opponents, and uses unnecessary tricks to throw his opponent off his game. “He plays for the audience, it somehow turns him on, he is a cocky guy. Still, there is a culture of tennis, it’s about the respect of the opponent. If someone uses psychological tricks, influencing the opponent’s game, this is against the rules, not like a man, disrespectful to him,” Petrova added.
Earlier, Stefanos Tsitsipas’ mother lashed out at Nick Kyrgios for his putting his son in an unusual position at Wimbledon 2022. She revealed that his son lost his composure, owing to Nick Kyrgios’ dirty tricks. The Greek star lost in four sets to the eventual runner-up, despite taking an early lead in the first set.
“Only Nick decided: the rules for him are not the rules. And even more so in tennis. Tennis is a very stiff sport. Our match turned out to be very nervous with Nick Kyrgios. That is, we were practically offered to play dirty tennis there, but we don’t know how to play such tennis. Therefore, Styopa lost his temper and left the court without getting there,” Tsitsipas’ mother said.
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Nirmit Mehta
(2425 Articles Published)