On Saturday, July 2, 2022, in Wimbledon, England, the fearless underdog Nick Kyrgios defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (7) in a controversial and emotionally impassioned third-round match of Wimbledon.
Kyrgios is a talented tennis player with an impulsive and emotion-driven playstyle. According to Wimbledon’s official Twitter page, he is “unscripted,” “unfiltered,” and “unmissable.” Additionally, he is an unpredictable athlete that constantly strives to win.
With Kyrgios’ expressive personality, tennis fans either love watching his incredible tennis talent or hate his fiery personality. Nevertheless, Kyrgios mentioned in an interview after defeating Tsitsipas, “Everywhere I go, [I see] full stadiums. The media loves to write that I am bad for the sport but clearly not.”
Throughout the match, Kyrgios continuously expressed his opinions to the chair umpire and the tournament referees. With frustration, he questioned why the chair umpire did not penalize Tsitsipas for almost hitting a fan with a tennis ball, claiming that the chair umpire would have punished him for the same action.
Kyrgios’ passionate complaints and unpredictable play unnerved Tsitsipas. In violent retaliation, Tsitsipas purposely swung his tennis racket to hit Kyrgios with the ball and complained to the chair umpire that Kyrgios was attempting to turn the tennis match into a circus.
According to Matthew Futterman, a journalist from the New York Times, Kyrgios finished the match with “… three unreturnable shots — a signature half-volley into the open court; a ripped, backhand winner; and a drop shot from the baseline that died on the turf just beyond Tsitsipas’s reach.” Furthermore, Kyrgios unpredictably and possibly disrespectfully aced Tsitsipas a few times with underhand serves.
In Tsitsipas’ post-match interview, he remarked in correlation to Kyrgios’ playstyle, “It’s constant bullying, that’s what he does.” Later in the interview, he added, “When I feel like other people disrespect me and don’t respect what I’m doing from the other side of the court, it’s [absolutely] normal from my side to act and do something about it.”
Minutes later, Kyrgios sat down for his interview in a t-shirt featuring Dennis Rodman, an equally expressive athlete. Kyrgios called Tsitsipas “soft” for letting his conversations with tournament officials get to his head and negatively affect his performance.
As Kyrgios continues to entertain crowds of thousands at Wimbledon, he will also bring his zealous desire to win.
Sources: https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1656877247472x354500886515628740/Nick%20Kyrgios%2C%20a%20Dream%20and%20a%20Nightmare%20for%20Wimbledon%2C%20Is%20Winning%20-%20The%20New%20York%20Times.pdf
https://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/scores/stats/1312.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ez3B0lbMBY
Kyrgios is a talented tennis player with an impulsive and emotion-driven playstyle. According to Wimbledon’s official Twitter page, he is “unscripted,” “unfiltered,” and “unmissable.” Additionally, he is an unpredictable athlete that constantly strives to win.
With Kyrgios’ expressive personality, tennis fans either love watching his incredible tennis talent or hate his fiery personality. Nevertheless, Kyrgios mentioned in an interview after defeating Tsitsipas, “Everywhere I go, [I see] full stadiums. The media loves to write that I am bad for the sport but clearly not.”
Throughout the match, Kyrgios continuously expressed his opinions to the chair umpire and the tournament referees. With frustration, he questioned why the chair umpire did not penalize Tsitsipas for almost hitting a fan with a tennis ball, claiming that the chair umpire would have punished him for the same action.
Kyrgios’ passionate complaints and unpredictable play unnerved Tsitsipas. In violent retaliation, Tsitsipas purposely swung his tennis racket to hit Kyrgios with the ball and complained to the chair umpire that Kyrgios was attempting to turn the tennis match into a circus.
According to Matthew Futterman, a journalist from the New York Times, Kyrgios finished the match with “… three unreturnable shots — a signature half-volley into the open court; a ripped, backhand winner; and a drop shot from the baseline that died on the turf just beyond Tsitsipas’s reach.” Furthermore, Kyrgios unpredictably and possibly disrespectfully aced Tsitsipas a few times with underhand serves.
In Tsitsipas’ post-match interview, he remarked in correlation to Kyrgios’ playstyle, “It’s constant bullying, that’s what he does.” Later in the interview, he added, “When I feel like other people disrespect me and don’t respect what I’m doing from the other side of the court, it’s [absolutely] normal from my side to act and do something about it.”
Minutes later, Kyrgios sat down for his interview in a t-shirt featuring Dennis Rodman, an equally expressive athlete. Kyrgios called Tsitsipas “soft” for letting his conversations with tournament officials get to his head and negatively affect his performance.
As Kyrgios continues to entertain crowds of thousands at Wimbledon, he will also bring his zealous desire to win.
Sources: https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1656877247472x354500886515628740/Nick%20Kyrgios%2C%20a%20Dream%20and%20a%20Nightmare%20for%20Wimbledon%2C%20Is%20Winning%20-%20The%20New%20York%20Times.pdf
https://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/scores/stats/1312.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ez3B0lbMBY
