Nick Kyrgios lashes out at ‘biased, ruined’ sport

The New Daily
Mar 30, 2016, updated Mar 31, 2016

Getty

Nick Kyrgios’ apparent dislike of tennis reached new levels on Wednesday (AEDT) when the 20-year-old dubbed the sport “ruined”.

The controversial Canberran was on his way to beating Russian Andrey Kuznetsov 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 in the fourth round of the Miami Masters, advancing to the last eight at an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time.

The victory also means Kyrgios is the first Australian since Lleyton Hewitt in 2002 to reach the quarters in Miami.

But the win was not all smooth sailing as he went into meltdown mode during the first set when he received a code violation for smashing a ball thrown his way by a ballkid into the stands.

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Chair umpire Cedric Mourier called the violation, and Kyrgios was furious.

On the next changeover, he told the umpire his action was not intentional and said a star player – such as 14-time major champion Rafael Nadal – would not have been disciplined for the same action.

“Anyone else, like Rafa did that, you would keep it cool,” Kyrgios told the umpire.

“This game is biased as anything. You all know it as well. It’s biased as shit, this game. What else has it got to hide? It’s ruined. Absolutely ruined.”

Responding to questions after the match, Kyrgios said only that he stood by his comments.

Nick Kyrgios has a hate-hate relationship with umpires. Photo: Getty

Kyrgios, whose ranking will rise to a career-high of at least 22 when the rankings are next released, will face Canadian 12th seed Milos Raonic on Friday (AEDT) for a semi-final berth.

If the Aussie beats Raonic, he will jump to No 20 and overtake Davis Cup teammate Bernard Tomic as the Australian No.1.

Kyrgios conceded just 10 points on serve in beating Kuznetsov, but admitted it was at the other end of the court where he was at his best.

“I came out a little flat and he came out flying,” Kyrgios told reporters.

“I picked up my energy halfway through the first set.

“I didn’t serve my best today and that’s just confidence for me.

“I’m playing well from the back, returning well and creating a lot of chances.”

Off to a career-best 13-3 start that included his first ATP title last month at Marseille, Kyrgios has a long track record of making off-colour remarks.

His foul-mouthed sledging of Swiss star Stan Wawrinka at the Montreal Masters last August earned him a suspended 28-day ban and a $US25,000 ($A32,800) fine.

At the Australian Open in January he abused the chair umpire for refusing to act quicker in stopping music that was being played in the crowd.

Earlier this month he fumed at an umpire at the Indian Wells tournament after being docked a point for swearing.