"It smells of weed" - After Nick Kyrgios, Barbora Krejcikova complains about marijuana smell during 2022 US Open doubles SF
After getting trolled for claiming to smell marijuana during his second-round match at the 2022 US Open, it seems that Nick Kyrgios might have indeed been right. While playing in the women's doubles semifinals on Friday, Barbora Krejcikova had a similar complaint as she approached chair umpire Kader Nouni.
At the start of the third set, the 26-year-old Czech smelled marijuana on the court and immediately went up to the umpire, arguing that it was coming from the stands at the Louis Armstrong Stadium.
"It smells of weed," Krejcikova said.
In his usual calm demeanor, Frenchman Nouni then made a gesture with his hands towards the spectators, asking them not to smoke cannabis in the stadium. The third-seeded team of Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova won the match and reached the US Open finals for the first time. They will take on America's Caty McNally and Taylor Townsend in a bid to win their sixth Grand Slam title on Sunday.
Reflecting on the comical incident, tennis host and writer Blair Henley requested her Twitter followers to create a GIF of Nouni's gesture.
"Someone GIF Kader Nouni trying to figure out who’s smoking pot around Armstrong. It was AMAZING," Henley tweeted.
Someone GIF Kader Nouni trying to figure out who’s smoking pot around Armstrong. It was AMAZING.
During his match against Benjamin Bonzi in the first week of the tournament, Kyrgios was seen asking the umpire to warn anyone who was smoking marijuana in the stands. The Australian revealed that he was asthmatic.
"You don’t even want to remind anyone not to do it? It was f**king marijuana. Obviously, I’m not going to be complaining about food stuff. Obviously not," Nick Kyrgios yelled.
This led the chair umpire to make an announcement during the match.
“Ladies and gentlemen, a reminder that you cannot smoke on court,” he said.
"It's just devastating, heartbreaking" - Nick Kyrgios on his quarterfinal loss
Playing in his first-ever quarterfinal at Flushing Meadows, Nick Kyrgios fought hard but ultimately lost to Karen Khachanov in five sets. After three hours and 39 minutes, the scorecard read 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-4 in favor of the 27th-seeded Russian.
In a press conference after the match, a dejected Kyrgios stated that the only tournaments that held value were the four Grand Slam events.
"I honestly feel like sh*t. I feel like I've let so many people down," Kyrgios said. "I feel like I'm playing Tokyo and stuff. I feel like these four tournaments (Grand Slams) are the only ones that are ever going to matter. It's just like you got to start it all again. I have to wait till Australian Open. It's just devastating. Like, it's heartbreaking. Not just for me, but for everyone that I know that wants me to win."
That semifinal feeling.
@karenkhachanov fights past Nick Kyrgios in five intense sets. https://t.co/c0vfZ5XbNf