Between Rafael Nadal and Nick Kyrgios, tennis fans were expecting a popcorn match in the Indian Wells quarter-finals.
They were not disappointed.
The whimsical Aussie has no equal when it comes to exploding corn kernels in all directions.
Beyond a big 2h45 fight finally won by the invincible Nadal (19 wins in 19 games since the start of the year) in three sets (7-6, 5-7, 6-4), Kyrgios did not hesitate to put on a show and play with, and above all against, the public.
Always at the limit, even more if you like.
It all started with a tweener serve (between the legs) with a spoon, punished by a long line forehand from the Majorcan, his eyebrow furrowed at such impudence.
Serving at 5-4 in the first set, the already fired up Canberra native squandered a golden opportunity to finish.
“However, I had less than a 10% chance of winning this round,” slips Nadal, who will face his compatriot Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-final.
Este set point from @NickKyrgios 🔥 @BNPPARIBASOPEN |
#IndianWells pic.twitter.com/hJiefKCuaG
— ATP Tour en Español (@ATPTour_ES) March 18, 2022
In the decisive game, the recent winner of the Australian Open (in doubles) completely unscrewed.
Losing 7-0 with, as a point of the set, a second warning synonymous with a penalty point for having smashed his racket before swinging a "shut your fucking mouth" at an overly talkative spectator.
After getting his head back in the second set by taking advantage of a catastrophic service game from Nadal at 6-5, the boiling Nick made the names of birds fly in the Californian sky.
“Do you know how to play tennis?
“, he launched to a spectator in the middle of the third round.
" No ?
So why are you talking?, he continued, pointing with his racket to actor and director Ben Stiller, in the front row behind the court.
I don't ask him how to play
(Editor's note: at the cinema)
!
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“How can you hate someone who is just trying to be different?
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Nick Kyrgios
After the final handshake, the heat nearly turned to dread.
Kyrgios smashed his racquet to the ground with such rage that the rebound grazed a ball boy.
" What do you want me to say ?
Was that my intention?
No.
Did I throw the racquet close to him?
It landed a meter from my foot, it bounced and almost hit it.
I am a human being.
These things happen, he got carried away in a press conference.
It was a very unfortunate rebound.
I think if I did it a million times, it wouldn't be like this.
He dove, he ducked, he ducked.
He lowered himself.
He was not touched.
It was an accident.
It definitely wasn't like Zverev (
Editor's note: who intentionally hit the referee's chair in Acapulco)
.
I didn't hit him, luckily, and that wasn't my intention.
»
Made a new friend in the process 🤍 accidents happen but we can go out of our way to make things better 🥶👑 pic.twitter.com/G0gI5QpmBy
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) March 18, 2022
Kyrgios also returned to his behavior towards the fans.
“I don't expect the crowd to support me.
When you play against Rafa, 99% of people will be behind him, he said.
I just want those people, who bought tickets to come see us play, not to shout before the service.
That's all.
Spectator, when you watch pros play, you have to shut up.
But they think they somehow have the right to scream, like they did the other night with Naomi Osaka.
It affects us, we are only human.
So yes sometimes I throw a racket and it can land near someone.
»
For him, social networks make the situation worse.
“People think they're relevant, but they're not.
They hit people.
Many negative things are prevalent.
It's embarrassing and it affects people, he continued.
It affected me for years
(Editor's note: he recently confided in his 2019 depression)
and that's not good.
How can you hate someone who's just trying to be different?
It's ridiculous !
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