The highly anticipated Wimbledon showdown between Nick Kyrgios and Stefanos Tsitsipas was one largely dominated by heated exchanges.
Kyrgios valiantly battled back from a set down to defeat the world No. 5 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(7) and reached the second week of the Grand Slam for the first time since 2016. Although the talking point of the match wasn’t so much the tennis but more to do with a verbal tirade that went on throughout. Kyrgios clashed with the umpire for a large proportion before Tsitsipas started to express his own frustration which resulted in him getting a point penalty.
“It was a hell of an atmosphere, an amazing match. I felt like the favorite coming in after playing him a couple weeks ago (in Halle).” Said Kyrgios.
“I knew it was going to be a tough match, he’s a hell of a player.”
After recently hitting out at lines judges and claiming that umpires do not receive as much social media abuse as players, Kyrgios clashed with officials once again. At 5-5 a debatable call prompted the furious Australian to say ‘”He has one f***ing line to call. It’s annoying. Mistakes every match. At 5 all”. His mood deteriorated further in the opening tiebreak when a linesperson walked to the umpire to report something from Kyrgios’ side, presumably for swearing. Meanwhile, Tsitsipas went on to close the opener out by winning four points in a row.
In another incident, Kyrgios implied his rival was abusing the system by asking for a challenge when he knew he would lose the point.
“You know what that’s called? Abuse of the system,” he said during a changeover with the umpire.
Like the opener, there was little to distinguish between the two in the second frame. Kyrgios’ hot and cold style of play was on full display which was best illustrated when he was serving at 4-4. After racing to 40-0 without barely taking a break between points, he then produced four unforced errors in a row but still somehow managed to hold to nudge ahead. Then in the following game, there was another brief disruption with a different lines official walking to the umpire to report Kyrgios for swearing. In that very same game, Kyrgios went on to break to level the match.
After dropping the second set, Tsitsipas fired a ball into the crowd which prompted a stern response from his opponent who at one stage asked for a supervisor and said the Greek should have been defaulted. No such action was taken. Even though Kyrgios revived his chances of reaching the second week at SW19, the world No.40 continued his feud with the umpire.
“You don’t know how to play so how can you tell me to play?” He said after game one of the third set.
“The people are here to see me and not you.”
On the court, Kyrgios continued to exert his dominance with a forehand winner landing in the court that enabled him to break for a 3-1 lead. At this point, he had gotten to Tsitsipas who cracked when he was fed an underarm serve. The fourth seed smashed the ball into the crowd once again out of anger but this time he received a point penalty for his conduct. Although Tsitsipas didn’t realize he had one initially which led to yet another confrontation on the court with the umpire.
From that moment on there was clear tension on the court between the two. Demonstrated by one exchange that concluded with Tsitsipas firing the ball directly at his rival but it narrowly missed him. Something he continued to do throughout the third set which he eventually lost.
After all the drama, another plot unfolded in the fourth set when Kyrgios hurt his right hip region after slipping on the grass. Prompting worried looks from his entourage in the crowd. Nevertheless, he continued playing until proceedings were halted at 4-4 for the roof to come on due to poor lighting.
Upon resumption, proceedings went into yet another electrifying tiebreak. Kyrgios worked his way to his first match point but failed to convert after hitting a backhand wide. He prevailed on his second with a nifty drop shot.
“I’m super happy to get through. He was getting frustrated at times but it’s a frustrating sport, that’s for sure. I know that,” said Kyrgios.
“I have ultimate respect for him (Tsitsipas) no matter what happens on the court. I love him and I’m close with his brother.”
On Monday Kyrgios will play Brandon Nakashima in the fourth round. As to how far he can go in the tournament?
“I don’t really play a full schedule of tennis and I am able to play like this. I am going to take a rest and hopefully I can keep going.” He replied.
