"Rafael Nadal would not have allowed himself to be dictated to like Tsitsipas was" - John Lloyd on Nick Kyrgios' antics against Stefanos Tsitsipas
Former British tennis player John Lloyd has lambasted Nick Kyrgios for his on-court antics in his Wimbledon third-round win over Stefanos Tsitispas on Saturday.
In a high-quality clash, Kyrgios beat the young Greek in a fourth-set tie-break to advance to the fourth round. However, the match was blighted by Kyrgios looking to get under the skin of his opponent, interrupting play frequently to talk to the umpire.
A frustrated Tsitsipas hit a ball into the stands and almost got disqualified. Fortunately, the ball didn't strike anyone, and the Greek was only docked a point, while Kyrgios escaped with only a reprimand. That was despite the Australian arguing with the umpire that Tsitsipas should have been disqualified.
Lloyd found that bemusing.
"Tsitsipas was the one who suffered from that and his frustration boiled over when he hit the ball into the crowd. For Tsitsipas to get a point penalty and Kyrgios just a warning for all he did was a joke, a complete joke," he told the Daily Mail
Box office.
@NickKyrgios defeats Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(7)
#Wimbledon https://t.co/pEz7tltCOd
Two days later, Kyrgios beat Brandon Nakashima in five sets to reach his second Wimbledon quarterfinal. If be beats Cristian Garin in the last eight, Kyrgios could meet Rafael Nadal for a place in the final.
Lloyd, though, said that Nadal wouldn't have tolerated Kyrgios' shenanigans against Tsitsipas had he been in the Greek's place on Saturday. He added that the Spaniard wouldn't have allowed things to get out of hand like Tsitsipas did.
"He (Kyrgios) should get to the semis now and if he does he would play Rafael Nadal and I’m telling you: Rafa would not have allowed that to happen last night. He would made much more of it to the umpire, got the supervisor. He would not have allowed himself to be dictated to like Tsitsipas was," he said.
The former player pointed out that Tsitsipas allowed Kyrgios to get under his skin, which was the wrong approach.
"Tsitsipas tried to set himself apart from it and stay calm but against Nick you can’t do that; you have to engage," said Lloyd. "You have to stick up for yourself and he didn’t do that."
"Nick Kyrgios should have been defaulted last night, the umpire totally lost control of the match" - John Lloyd
Continuing on the Kyrgios-Tsitsipas match, John Lloyd reckoned Kyrgios ought to have been disqualified and criticized chair umpire Damien Dumusois for going soft on the Australian.
"Nick Kyrgios should have been defaulted last night," said Lloyd. "The umpire totally lost control of the match, the tennis became secondary, and it became almost impossible for Stefanos Tsitsipas to play."
Lloyd added that he likes to be entertained, but Nick Kyrgios' antics went "way over the top." He concurred with Tsitsipas, who said that it was like "playing in a circus."
"I like an entertainer, but this was way over the top. As his opponent said, it was like playing in a circus," Lloyd said.
The former player also said that the chair umpire should have taken action when a line judge complained that Kyrgios swore at him.
"When the line judge came up to the umpire and told him about Kyrgios swearing he made a decision not to warn him, that was a big mistake," said Lloyd. "Maybe the umpire decided to just let that one go but with Nick you’ve got to stamp your authority because otherwise he’ll walk all over you and that’s what he did."
Lloyd opined that Kyrgios' behavior needs to be curbed, as the tennis can become "secondary" and a soft-spoken player like Tsitsipas can get "bullied."
"That kind of behaviour has got to be curbed because in the end the tennis becomes secondary, and Tsitsipas became so frustrated because he was almost being bullied by all the stuff going on," Lloyd said.
"Kyrgios was basically trying to disrupt his opponent’s game. He wasn’t really allowed to play tennis he was rushed into everything. I know you play to the pace of the server but this was ridiculous, Kyrgios was serving within two seconds," he added.
Lloyd, though, praised Nick Kyrgios' world-class shot-making, especially his serving, against Tsitsipas.
"All that being said and done he hit some shots last night where you go: ‘Oh my god this guy is a bloody genius.' If he serves like the way he was in patches no one would like to play him," he said.
Eight years later, @NickKyrgios is a Wimbledon quarter-finalist again
#Wimbledon | #CentreCourt100 https://t.co/zag33AmCzI
Nick Kyrgios will take on Cristian Garin on Wednesday as he seeks to reach his first Wimbledon semifinal and a possible showdown with Nadal.