Nick Kyrgios reacts to Stan Wawrinka picking him as the best "trash-talker" for his perfect player
Nick Kyrgios has responded to Stan Wawrinka picking him for his trash-talking abilities, while the Swiss veteran was building his "perfect player." Kyrgios and Wawrinka have history, with the pair having infamously sparked controversy over a distasteful remark the Australian made in the Swiss' direction back in 2015.
Wawrinka, a three-time Major winner and an Olympic gold medalist in doubles, was recently asked to build his perfect player. The Swiss was given nine categories; serve, return, tactics, mentality, forehand, backhand, slice, volley, and trash-talk.
The former World No. 3 made the following choices; Milos Raonic for his serve, Novak Djokovic for his return, tactics and backhand, Rafael Nadal for his mentality, Roger Federer for his forehand, slice and volley, and Kyrgios for his trashtalking.
The brief feature was produced by We Are Tennis, a French tennis media outlet, and was shared on its official X (formerly Twitter) account.
The post featured a caption containing Stan Wawrinka's picks for each category. Right at the end, the caption read:
"Can we do better, honestly?"
Kyrgios took notice of the post and reshared the post with a one-word caption:
"Yep"
Kyrgios and Wawrinka's 2015 conttreversial incident resulted in the Australian being fined and given an almost month-long suspension.
Nick Kyrgios and Stan Wawrinka's 2015 controversy in a nutshell
The 2015 edition of the Canadian Open (known as the Rogers Cup at the time) saw Nick Kyrgios and Stan Wawrinka squaring off in the second round. At one point during the match, court-side microphones caught Kyrgios' distasteful comments aimed at the Swiss.
The Australian told Wawrinka that Thanasi Kokkinakis, Kyrgios' compatriot and close friend, had been physically intimate with WTA star Donna Vekic. At the time, Wawrinka and Vekic were romantically involved.
The Swiss was initially unaware of Kyrgios' comment, and retired from the match with a back problem, granting the Australian a relatively easy passage into the third round. However, upon knowing what Kyrgios had told him, a furious Wawrinka reportedly confronted the Australian in the locker room.
The authorities were also urged by Wawrinka to take strict action against Kyrgios. The Australian would go on to be punished with a fine amounting to $45,945 and a 28-day suspension.