January 26, (THEWILL) – According to a fellow pro, Michael Venus, Nick Kyrgios is “an absolute knob” with the maturity of a “10-year-old” following his last doubles “circus” at the Australian Open.
Venus, a doubles player, is not a fan of the home favourite and the antics that have helped him become so popular at Melbourne Park and elsewhere.
Venus and his partner, Tim Putz, were defeated 5-7, 6-3, 3-6 by Kyrgios and his Australian friend and countrymen Thanasi Kokkinakis in a thrilling three-set doubles encounter. It was a match that was made all the more memorable when Kyrgios smacked a child in the crowd with a wild and gratuitous shot before running over and apologising with a racquet.
The New Zealander spoke out about the hostility he received from fans during the loss on Tuesday, describing the match as “not really a tennis match” and criticising Kyrgios’ maturity level.
“It felt like a circus out there, and not really a tennis match,” Venus said post-match. “Between serves, [they were] geeing the crowd up and getting them to cheer at times like that. I don’t think that’s really on.
“You know, if it’s on the other foot, old mate [Kyrgios] would have flipped his lid. He already did get mad there by himself. It’s amazing, he can smash a ball out that hits a kid and just because he gives them a racquet afterwards people can say he is such a good guy.
“Anytime you were going back to get the balls to serve, people were making comments about yourself, your family.
“On the maturity side, you see why he has never fulfilled his potential and probably never will. His maturity level, it is probably being generous to [say] about a 10-year-old, it’s at about that level.
“The amount of messages I got from people, an extreme amount, way, way more than I’ve ever had but then a lot of messages from people saying how embarrassed they were with the crowd’s behaviour and they’re sorry, it shouldn’t have been like that.
“They will always be his supporters and he’ll spin it in a way that helps him, but at the end of the day he’s an absolute knob.”
Despite his early exit from the singles event at Melbourne, Kyrgios has had another memorable Australian Open. From heated clashes with umpires to wild showboating, and even calling out an opponent’s fitness coach for attempting to incite a brawl in the players’ gym.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
