“He acted to his own detriment” Despite Nick Kyrgios being ‘too annoying’, Toni Nadal believes Stefanos Tsitsipas conceded the match easily in Wimbledon
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Nick Kyrgios, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Toni Nadal
Toni Nadal becomes the latest tennis persona to react to the highly controversial match between Nick Kyrgios and Stefanos Tsitsipas during their third-round meeting at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships. Kyrgios won the match in 4-sets but not before ensuring that the match is talked about for days. While the tennis part was on a brilliant display, the controversies and drama made it all the more interesting.
With Stef winning the first set, Nick had to rally back in the next three sets to see of the Greek from yet another early exit from the Championships. The frustration for Stef started growing mid-match itself as he hit a ball straight into the stands narrowly missing a spectator with his direct shot although one of the spectators did get injured when the ball rebounded. Tsitsipas also later admitted that he was aiming shots at Nick’s body in anger as the Australian continued to win games.
“A player ranked number 5 could not control himself”: Toni Nadal on Stefanos Tsitsipas blaming Nick Kyrgios
In his post-match press conference, Stef called Nick a bully right from his school and also labelled the Australian as manipulative and evil for his drama on the court that saw the crowd siding him against Stef. Kyrgios had earlier called for Stef to be defaulted from the match after he hit the ball purposefully but the Greek was lucky to have been allowed to continue unlike Novak Djokovic‘s infamous removal from the 2020 US Open.
“It is true that Kyrgios is too annoying, provocative and can easily get on the nerves of his opponents. However, I was extremely surprised that a tennis player ranked number five in the ATP rankings, one of the candidates to lift the trophy next Sunday, was not able to control himself, to contain his emotions. He missed the opportunity to score a few points in a match and in a tournament of this importance.
“Those of us dedicated to the sport know only too well that the course of a match, and therefore its outcome, often depends on a few bullets. It is clear that Tsitsipas acted to his own detriment, not being used to handling those situations in which a player feels somewhat ridiculous, ” said Toni Nadal in his column for El Pais where he saw it fitting that Stef takes responsibility for his own defeat rather than blame it on Nick’s antics and on-court behaviour.
Also Read: In a bizarre incident, Wimbledon forced a Romanian player to change her bra after entering the court
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Sarthak Shitole
(3462 Articles Published)