“Here is $400,000 – heads or tails. If you’re wrong, wouldn’t you be mad?” Nick Kyrgios defends his much criticized racquet-smashing moment from the US Open
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Nick Kyrgios
No active player in the current crop of tennis players is as polarizing a figure as Nick Kyrgios. Ever since his breakthrough in the popular tennis scene, he has been caught in the middle of various scandals, earning him a reputation for being stubborn and spoilt. At times, he has also been fined by umpires and tournament managers, and his respect and dedication for tennis questioned by veteran players.
According to Tennishead magazine, he has received more fines for his temperamental on-court behavior than any other player in ATP history.
The perpetually criticized Kyrgios finally got an opportunity to present his side of the story when he made an appearance in a podcast. He joined YouTube personality Julian Petroulas for a conversation spanning money, fame, and mental health.
The podcast lasted almost an hour, with Petroulas touching on various topics, including the controversial actions of Nick in Grand Slam events. Kyrgios, currently ranked 22 in the world, has given some solid performances over the years, including being the only third person after Dominik Hrbatý and Lleyton Hewitt, to have beaten each one of the Big Three, i.e Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic. Yet, a major title – the ultimate goal that is chased by every tennis player, has so far eluded the 27-year-old.
2022 was yet another year of heartbreaks, that saw Kyrgios coming painfully close to realizing his dreams of winning a Grand Slam singles title. He had his best run at Wimbledon, reaching the finals, before ultimately falling to Novak Djokovic. The Serb who had been deprived of playing the Australian Open at that point, and had low hopes of playing in the US Open, defeated Kyrgios in 4 sets. While Kyrgios maintained his dignity in that tournament, it was the US Open for which he came under fire.
‘The outbursts happen because I care’ – Nick Kyrgios’s defense of the U.S Open incident
In the quarterfinals of the 2022 US Open, he faced Karen Khachanov of Russia. The grueling match lasted 5 sets, with Kyrgios almost pulling out mid-match due to a leg injury. However, he continued playing but lost in the end. With the result not in his favor, Kyrgios was visibly frustrated and would smash two racquets before receiving a code violation from the umpire. He was fined $14,000 for the incident, bringing his total fines from the tournament to $32,500.
“When people see this video of me at the US Open breaking tennis rackets, they see it as something negative. ‘Oh, he doesn’t care, he’s a brat’, but that’s precisely because I care” Nick defended himself.
Continuing his impassioned monologue, he explained the financial aspect of the matter “people don’t understand that if I won that game, it was $400,000 more. Could someone on the street say to me, ‘Here is $400,000 – heads or tails.’ If you’re wrong, wouldn’t you be mad? I just lost after four hours of play, at 2 a.m,, and for that amount of money!”
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Aradhana Nayak
(189 Articles Published)