Tsitisipas likens Kyrgios to a 'bully', latter demands Greek be 'kicked out' of Wimbledon

The World No. 5 ranked tennis player, Stefanos Tsitsipas ended his Wimbledon Championships 2022 campaign on Saturday, following his loss to Australian star Nick Kyrgios in the third round of the tournament. Tsitsipas’ match against the unseeded Australian became the talk of the town, as it witnessed Kyrgios getting angry at the umpire and tournament supervisors, asking them to take action against the Greek. Kyrgios was miffed at the umpires for not taking action against Tsitsipas’ action of angrily hitting the ball into the stands after losing the second set.

Following the high-voltage match, Tsitsipas revealed his thoughts about the Aussie and said Kyrgios constantly bullies his opponents. As reported by The Associated Press, Tsitsipas said, “It’s constant bullying. That’s what he does. He bullies the opponents. He was probably a bully at school himself. I don’t like bullies”. The match saw a total of three code violations being called by chair umpire Damien Dumusois, two of which were against Tsitsipas for ball abuse and earning a point penalty.

Nick Kyrgios responds to the 'bully' comment by Stefanos Tsitsipas

At the same time, Kyrgios was handed a code violation for an audible obscenity. Earlier during the match, Kyrgios was heard saying to the umpire that he needs to bring out more supervisors, and also that he won’t be playing until the matter is resolved. Meanwhile, on being told about Tsitsipas’ ‘bully’ comment during the post-match press conference, the Aussie laughed and shook his head, before adding on to the topic.

“He was the one hitting balls at me. He was the one who hit a spectator. ... I didn’t do anything. Apart from me going back and forth with the umpire, I did nothing toward Stefanos today that was disrespectful, I don’t think. If he’s affected by that today, then that’s what’s holding him back. Because someone can just do that, and that’s going to throw him off his game like that? I just think it’s soft,” Kyrgios said.

Other controversial Nick Kyrgios moments

It is pertinent to mention that this is not the first time Kyrgios has found himself in the headlines for a controversial reason. During the Round of 16 of the Halle Open 2022, earlier this month, Kyrgios lashed out at the umpire for a time violation warning against the same opponent. In the same match, he received a code violation for hammering his racquet repeatedly on the side of his court-side seat and smashing it.

Despite all the drama, the match witnessed some terrific tennis and lasted for three hours and 17 minutes. The match started with Tsitsipas winning the first set by 7-6 (7) before Kyrgios made a comeback and won the next three sets by 6-4, 6-3, and 7-6 (9). The Australian will now face USA’s Brandon Nakashima in the Round of 16 of Wimbledon 2022 on Monday. 

(Image: AP)