Every time you think Nick Kyrgios might be reforming himself from the colossal brat of past years, he goes and says something that completely contradicts that hope.
His arrogance following his and Thanasi Kokkinakis’ awesome doubles win on Saturday is a case in point.
Australians were all behind the pair. They were causing entertaining ruptures the entire tournament. We were LOVING it.
And then Nick goes and ruins it all by saying something stupid like: “I would say that we’ve created probably the best atmosphere this tournament has ever seen. People watch my matches, everywhere I play around the world the stadiums are full for that reason”.
“Ash (Barty’s) father came to us and said the crowd was the best he’s ever seen. Obviously Ash is a hell of a player, but I think the ratings speak for themselves.”
Yep, that’s right. Kyrgios seemingly claimed that his matches at the AO were causing more spectator hype than those of Ash Barty, despite the fact Barty’s final against Danielle Collins garnered a record peak audience of 4.2 million while Kyrgios’ match straight after attracted 3.1 million.
To make matters worse, after hearing these words played back to him he opted to double down, blaming media in a ridiculous tirade for allegedly misconstruing what was a quote verbatim:
“F** you media,” Kyrgios wrote on his Instagram stories “Honestly, I said nothing disrespectful to @ashbarty I said that the crowd this year was amazing and I feel as if @the-kokk1 & I were a big part of that.
“Ash’s father came to me and even said that. All I said was that when people watch me around the world the stadiums are full. I grew up with Ash & always knew her potential.”
But in this explanation there was still no mention that Barty’s victory was the primary impetus for national celebrations.
He then turned his fury to finals opponent, Max Purcell after he said he “couldn’t agree more” to a comment that called for Kyrgios to be disqualified for hitting a ball into the crowd and striking a nine-year-old boy.
While Purcell praised Kyrgios and Kokkinakis in his post-match press conference following the final, he added that: “I think it was great for ticket sales here but I’m not so sure how it was taken overseas.
“If you’re watching some of Nick and Thanasi’s matches earlier in the week and you’re overseas, maybe you get turned off tennis a little bit.”
Kyrgios returned fire saying: “As for @maxpurcell you donut, regarding your comments after the match, you clearly have no idea about entertainment and sport,” he wrote.
“If you haven’t noticed there is a reason why people actually come to my matches. It’s because the level & my game are actually worth watching.
“Next time you lose another slam final, you should just put your head down and try to figure out how to play the big points better. No need to slate other Aussies in the media cuz people would rather watch paint dry than your S&V game style.”
Yikes.
Still some work to do on the old grace and humility front then, Nick… maybe next Aus Open?