Nick Kyrgios was triumphant in the second round of the Wimbledon tournament, beating Germany’s Dustin Brown in five sets, and all was going pretty well until the post-match press conference, when a reporter successfully baited him, and now here we all are.
During the match, the always-outspoken Kyrgios earned a code violation for an audible obscenity after dropping serve in the third set, but he bristled when a journalist suggested that he’d actually sworn at chair umpire Jake Garner.
In fact, Kyrgios did have a go at Garner for a “horrendous” umpiring decision after he called “not up” for a double bounce on the first point of the third set, but he resented the implication that he’d actually sworn at the umpire.
Earlier in the day, when asked about his somewhat fiery reputation, the 21-year-old said:
“I don’t know why you guys always ask me these questions. There’s plenty of players that ask the umpire questions. I’m not necessarily arguing with the umpire, I just want to hear what he thinks. I just want to tell him my opinion. I’m not necessarily getting angry at the umpire, I’m just having a conversation with him.”
On his clash with Brown, he said:
“I thought my behavior was really good throughout the match. Obviously went a little bit off track towards the third. At the same time, I thought it was OK, to be honest. The crowd was loving it. I’m sure a lot of people around the world were watching that match. That’s what sport is. It’s entertainment, isn’t it?”
When the question of his “language” to the umpire came up yet again in the presser following the match, he snapped and let at least one reporter have it, before calling an end to proceedings.
The relevant exchange begins at around the 1:37 mark below:
Kyrgios will meet 22nd seed Feliciano Lopez in the third round.
Source: Fairfax.
