Nick Kyrgios continues to make noise on his return. The Australian, playing his first tournament in 12 months, had slammed the umpire during his opening round match at the Murray River Open on Tuesday. On Wednesday, he stopped play for a while after receiving a time violation.
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At 5-5 in the second set, Kyrgios had not yet served when the shot clock ran out. The chair umpire handed him a time violation, which did not go down well with the 25-year-old.
A fuming Kyrgios walked out, sat down at his bench and refused to play till he had a word with the supervisor.
🤯KYRGIOS WALKS OFF!🤯
"I'm not playing!"😲
The Aussie has abandoned ship after a time violation against his serve… and he is NOT happy about it!
WATCH: 9Go!
STREAM: https://t.co/VPvWjqOKIA#9WWOS #MelbourneSummerSeries pic.twitter.com/JlPeRwvqTe— Wide World of Sports (@wwos) February 3, 2021
“Tennis isn’t about him (the umpire),” he told the supervisor. “He’s an extra to make all this s*** go smoothly, so why is he doing this?” Kyrgios argued that he had started the service motion before the shot clock hit zero.
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“I was in the motion of serving. Every technique is different. I wasn’t bouncing the ball,” he railed on.
“So he’s a smarta*** and calls it? I have to go back and forth to get my towel. I was here, I was actually here serving. Then he says everyone’s service technique was the same.”
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His opponent, Harry Bourchier of Australia, was not best pleased with the interruption, which lasted about five minutes, and asked Kyrgios if all this could be discussed after the match. Kyrgios agreed to play only after the supervisor assured him he would not be fined.
“Do I get fined for that, yes or no?” Kyrgios asked. “I’ve lost enough money to these peanuts.”
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The 25-year-old eventually returned to play and saved three set points in the second set with some brilliant tennis to clinch the match 6-2, 7-6.
In the press conference after the match, Kyrgios said that he just wanted to ensure he wasn’t being penalized.
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“I just like playing by the rules. I just didn’t want to play until I made sure I wasn’t getting fined,” he said. “Harry’s a great player. We used to play together back in Canberra, we know each other well, we know each other’s games. He’s a great player. It was fun.”
Kyrgios will take on fourth seed Borna Coric in the pre-quarterfinals of the Murray River Open on Friday. The two had exchanged blows on twitter last year.
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Meanwhile, Tennis Australia reassured everyone that despite Thursday’s play being cancelled the delay in the draw ceremony, the Australian Open would be going ahead right on schedule.
