It didn’t take long — just two games in fact — but Nick Kyrgios was back to his prickly best on John Cain Arena at the Australian Open on Monday evening [AEDT].
Down a break at 0-2 in the first set against Portugal’s Frederico Ferreira Silva, Kyrgios turned his attention to his player’s box, loudly exclaiming: “Tell your girlfriend to get out of my box!”
It’s unclear who exactly he was referring to, but it proved the catalyst for a quick turnaround in fortunes; Kyrgios quickly broke back and evened the contest at 2-2, then muttering under his breath: “Wonder why?”
“Tell your girlfriend to get out of my box!” š
Add another classic Nick Kyrgios moment to the list. š
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From there, the Australian was well on his way to taking a 5-4 lead in the set before again halting proceedings, this time berating a member of the crowd for speaking between his opponent’s first and second serves.
“Be quiet bro, have some respect for the kid,” Kyrgios said.
He approached the chair umpire after the game, asking him loudly if he was going to do anything about it.
Kyrgios went on to take the first set 6-4 and was rarely troubled for the rest of his encounter, occasionally offering himself some advice, and at one point asking his opponent for an unused towel during a change of ends.
Kyrgios closed out the match 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, but said he was far from playing his best tennis.
“Honestly it was pretty average. I haven’t played a Grand Slam match in over a year. I was nervous,” he said on court following the win.
“(But) it was special; I appreciate [the crowd for] coming out. It was a strange year, and we all overcame it together to make it possible. It felt normal, to be honest, it was good to see [the crowd was] going nuts”
Kyrgios faces Frenchman Ugo Humbert in the second round.