Venus Williams & Jamie Murray's win on Court 1 was played with great sportsmanship, then tonight on the same court with Nick Kyrgios & Stefanos Tsitsipas, all hell broke loose: Pam ShriverÂ
Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios' win against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the third round of Wimbledon was arguably the match of the tournament. The two flamboyant stars put on a show on Court 1 for the crowd while there was constant drama and controversy in the match.
Both players were reprimanded for unsportsmanlike conduct during the match which saw two line judges complain to the chair umpire about Nick Kyrgios' language in-game. Tsitsipas, meanwhile, was penalized for hitting the ball into the crowd that narrowly missed a fan but hit them on the rebound.
Coming up clutch: @NickKyrgios edition.
Those final three points. Breathtaking.
#Wimbledon https://t.co/KeaSoHdKf0
Speaking about the match, Pam Shriver took to Twitter to compare the match to Friday night's mixed doubles encounter that featured Venus Williams and Jamie Murray. The match was the antithesis of the showing on Court 1 on Saturday night.
"Just thinking how Friday night mixed doubles @Venuseswilliams & @jamie_murray win on court 1 @Wimbledon was played with great sportsmanship. Then tonight, same court, same time, all hell broke out! Which night did you enjoy more," Shriver wrote.
Just thinking how Friday night mixed doubles @Venuseswilliams & @jamie_murray win on court 1 @Wimbledon was played with great sportsmanship. Then tonight, same court, same time, all hell broke out! Which night did you enjoy more?
Nick Kyrgios ended up winning the match in four sets after losing the first set in a tiebreak. The Australian has played some of the best tennis of his career at SW19 this year and with Rafael Nadal on his side of the draw, a potential semifinal matchup awaits for fans between the Spaniard and the Australian.
War of words between Nick Kyrgios and Stefanos Tsitsipas
While there was clear friction and resentment between the two players on the court, the battle found its way to the press conferences. The duo were seen exchanging some sharp words in their respective post-match press conferences, with no love lost between the two.
Tsitsipas attended his presser first as he called Nick Kyrgios a bully and had some very harsh words for the Australian. While the Greek said that there are some good qualities to Kyrgios, Tsitsipas believes that the Australian has an evil side to him that could do him and the people around him some harm.
"He bullies the opponents. He was probably a bully at school himself. I don't like bullies. I don't like people that put other people down. He has some good traits in his character, as well. But he also has a very evil side to him, which if it's exposed, it can really do a lot of harm and bad to the people around him," Tsitsipas said.
Box office.
@NickKyrgios defeats Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(7)
#Wimbledon https://t.co/pEz7tltCOd
Nick Kyrgios hit back at the Greek star by saying that it was Tsitsipas who hit the ball into the crowd. The Australian also pointed to how the World No. 5 also aimed a couple of shots at Kyrgios as he approached the net.
"He was the one hitting balls at me, he was the one that hit a spectator, he was the one that smacked it out of the stadium. I didn't do anything. Apart from me just going back and forth to the umpire for a bit, I did nothing towards Stefanos that was disrespectful, I don't think. I was not drilling him with balls," Kyrgios said.
The Australian will face Brandon Nakashima for a place in the quarterfinals of SW19.