Australia’s feisty tennis pro Nick Kyrgios has caused the next upset at the Wimbledon grass-court classic. The 27-year-old admitted after his first-round win to deliberately spitting in the direction of a spectator.
The spectator was disrespectful to him, Kyrgios said. “When I won the match, I turned to him. I’ve had to deal with hate and negativity for so long, so I don’t feel I owe this person anything.”
Kyrgios defeated Britain’s Paul Jubb 3-6, 6-1, 7-5, 6-7 (3-7), 7-5, repeatedly tangling with the crowd who supported the local hero. He doesn’t go to the supermarket and clap when someone scans something in the cash register, the world number 40 mocked the referee.
He had not been racially insulted, Kyrgios said when asked. He had last denounced this at the tournament in Stuttgart. “But someone shouted today that I was shit. Is that normal. No,” Kyrgios said. “I think it’s a whole generation of people on social media who think they have the right to comment negatively on every single thing. “
Kyrgios had been on probation for six months in 2019.
At a tournament in the US, he had tangled with the umpire, taken an unauthorised toilet break, smashed two rackets in the catacombs and refused to shake hands with the referee at the end.
