Australian tennis legend Pat Cash has launched a blistering attack on Nick Kyrgios, accusing him of cheating, abuse and dragging tennis down to new depths.
The 1987 Wimbledon champion, who commentated on Kyrgios’s spiteful barn-burner of a victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas on Saturday, said the controversial Canberra showman was turning the game into a circus.
Both men were hit on Sunday for their dismal behaviour.
Tsitsipas was fined $US10,000 ($A14,700) for hitting a ball which narrowly missed spectators and Kyrgios, who’d already received the same punishment after spitting in his first-round match, was slugged a further $US4,000 ($A6,000) for his histrionics.
With Kyrgios given his first centre-court date of the championships on Monday in a fourth-round clash with American Brandon Nakashima, Cash said pointedly: “Let’s hope he doesn’t drop tennis there to a lower level than he did on Saturday.”
Cash wasn’t the only luminary to lambast Kyrgios, as Mats Wilander and even the greatest ‘bad boy’ of them all, John McEnroe, both weighed in.
In Saturday’s contest, Tsitsipas could easily have been defaulted for whacking the ball into the crowd, and Kyrgios, who’d aimed foul-mouthed tirades at hapless chair umpire Damien Dumusois, tried to get the official to do just that.
The Greek, who twice also deliberately aimed to hit his opponent with the ball, claimed afterwards the Australian was a bully and had an “evil side” while Kyrgios shrugged Tsitsipas was just soft and had “serious issues”.
But Cash, in the BBC commentary box, was left disgusted by his compatriot.
“It was absolute mayhem,” he said on BBC radio on Sunday.
“He’s brought tennis to the lowest level I can see as far as gamesmanship, cheating, manipulation, abuse, aggressive behaviour to umpires, to linesmen.
“He was lucky to even get through the first set, he should have been defaulted in the first set.
“Something’s got to be done about it – it’s just an absolute circus. Is it entertaining? Yeah, possibly. It’s gone to the absolute limit now.”
Pressed on the cheating, Cash added: “The gamesmanship. The abuse he was giving.
“Tsitsipas would make a line call and he’d go up there and start complaining, he’d be in his face – that’s part of gamesmanship, that’s the sort of stuff he does and I think there’s a limit.
“I have no problems with a bit of gamesmanship but, when it gets to that level, I think it’s just out of control.
“As it was, the umpire lost control. The ball kids were running across the court as Kyrgios was serving, he didn’t slow down for any of that stuff.
“Tsitsipas got sucked right into it – so it was entertaining and fascinating, but for me it’s gone too far now.”
Cash was speaking after he’d been on centre court for the centenary parade of former champions but he’s evidently concerned at the prospect of how Kyrgios might conduct himself there.
Three-time Australian Open champion Wilander told Eurosport: “I’ve never seen anything like it.
“I’m not sure I want to see something like that again, to be honest, because I don’t think this is what we want to promote in tennis. We want to not promote it as entertainment.
“We want to promote it as inspirational, educational, but this is what people maybe want to see. I’m not sure I’m a big fan of what’s going on to be honest.”
The greatest irony was McEnroe’s attack while commentating for ESPN. “It’s embarrassing. He doesn’t need to do all this,” said the man once dubbed ‘Superbrat’ at SW19 for his behaviour but is now one of its favourite fixtures.
“It’s scary how good he is – that’s what’s sad in a way.”
Joseph
Guest
John McEnroe ??? Isn't the player disqualified from the Australian Open in 1990 with 3 code violation? ???????????? John, are you serious ??
Ongon
Guest
Kyrgios said in an interview that he was told that the money he pays in fines in donated to charity so knowing that, doesn't mind getting fined.
Bloke7
Roar Rookie
Anyone who hates Kyrgios needs to stop reading articles about him and posting comments... journos love it. 4 stories about him in the SMH, not one about Tomljanovic. Even on the Roar this article has over 10k views but no-one seems interested in the only article about Tomljanovic I could find from 4 websites.( well played Roar!)
HR
Roar Rookie
Attention, I suspect. Suddenly found a new supplier after a long time clean, and he wants more.
jameswm
Roar Guru
The Demon doing it doesn't create the same headlines. Maybe he needs to call Novak out for his anti-vax stance and he'll be noticed.
jameswm
Roar Guru
If that is a question or comment aimed at me, I have no idea what you are talking about.
Lara
Guest
Particularly fishy….how long had you had it in your pocket.
Davico
Roar Pro
I see no one is talking about the fact that De Minaur tried (but failed) to snap his racquet over his knee and then quickly packed up and left after losing. If NK had done that the outrage would be palpable!!
PeteB
Roar Rookie
Haha yeah I’d like to see that :silly:
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
$800,000?
jameswm
Roar Guru
Remove opinionated players from the game, hey?
jameswm
Roar Guru
He packs it in sometimes, but not then.
jameswm
Roar Guru
Exactly. Pot. Kettle. Black. And not the sharpest tool in the shed.
jameswm
Roar Guru
So Kyrgios is the only tennis player to use gamesmanship? Or to push the rules? How naïve are you?
jameswm
Roar Guru
Not sure what Cash is on.
PeteB
Roar Rookie
Problem with tennis is the players have too much control. They’ve become a bunch of bores sharing their expertise on every political topic and even worse their behaviour and bullying on the court is a disgrace. I’ve switched off because I can’t stand and don’t like or have respect for any of them. Officials need to get a backbone and get the rude obnoxious bullies and over opinionated players out of the game.
simoc
Guest
You have to win seven games straight to win a major and while Kyrgious has the physical ability, he misses out between the ears. McEnroe was a cheat always stopping the game and having a tirade when things were going bad. Kyrgious isn't as bad yet.
Nick
Roar Guru
To be fair, they are heavily penalised financially after...it's just that they are also paid so ridiculously well that a $15k fine for abuse is like a parking ticket to them. What the sport needs to do is institute a percentage based fine structure, similar to cricket so that there is a proportionally fairer hit. Instead of fining someone a flat 15k for abuse, fine them 25% of their tournament prize money. Even Kyrgios would be quiet if he was told his yap would cost him, in the fourth round, close to $100k.
JGK
Roar Guru
I assume Pat "Women's tennis is rubbish" Cash and John "Answer the question, jerk" McEnroe's comments were made in an appropriately ironic tone. As for Kyrgios - those tactics won't work against Rafa or Novak but he's right in that a bunch of the next tier go to water when the acid is put on them. That said, I think tonight's match could be a bit of a pitfall - he's a strong favourite and expected to dominate and Nick hates that.
Marty
Roar Rookie
Ah the irony of Kyrgios calling someone else soft. He’s got the talent to be anything but when things get tough at the business end of a GS he finds an excuse to spit his little dummy and get out of there as quick as he can. Definition of soft, basically runs away.