Last week, Nick Kyrgios found himself in a verbal tussle with amazingly-named Olympic official Kitty Chiller, over his selection prospects for the upcoming Olympic Games in Rio.
Chiller, who is Australia’s Olympic chef de mission, said that the young player is “on watch” for his recent on-court antics, implying he won’t make the cut for Rio unless he’s on his best behaviour.
Kyrgios being Kyrgios, he responded by laughing off her warning in no uncertain terms, basically saying that the Olympic team would be damn well lucky to have him.
Tennis Australia have since come out in support of the young gun, saying on Friday that he is one of our top prospects for a medal, and adding:
“Since the disciplinary action taken against Nick last year, he’s made a concerted effort to improve his performance and behaviour, and full credit to him. It’s unfortunate that he’s been included unfairly in recent discussions on player behaviour that have not involved him.”
In what was probably an ill-advised decision, Kitty Chiller went ahead had another crack at Kyrgios, saying of that his comments suggest he doesn’t understand “what it means to be an Australian Olympian.”
“Nick has just come off a suspended sentence from his International Tennis Federation,” she added. “Any athlete that has just had a disciplinary action from their international federation is on watch.”
Kyrgios snapped back at this, noting on Twitter that he was never under suspension:
@kittychiller coming out of suspension? What on earth are you talking about? I was never under a suspension ??????
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) May 13, 2016
He then took to Facebook, asking his fans for their thoughts on whether or not he should represent Australia in Rio, saying:
“It’s hard not to read all the stuff written about me… So I want your opinion.
Fiery passion and intense competitiveness to me are the things that represent the elite level of sport.
If you think the Australian Olympic tennis team would be better without me then comment on this photo… BUT if you were the selector and you would want me out there battling for a medal LIKE and SHARE this picture.”
At the time of writing, the post has 1000 comments, and just over 8000 combined likes and shares. We’re waiting eagerly to see how this one plays out.
Source: ABC News.
Photo: Dennis Grombkowski / Getty.
