Notorious for his explosive meltdowns during tournaments, Nick Kyrgios has added another shouting match with an umpire on his list, while losing at an ATP event semi-final.
Kyrgios was overcome by Reilly Opelka at the US Clay Court Championships in Houston on Saturday.
But he was already overcome by nerves before his 6-3, 7-5 loss against the American giant was consolidated.
His clash with umpire Joshua Brace was triggered by a ball appearing to have gone over the baseline that was not called out.
Losing his temper, Kyrgios made an unforced error next point, which led to an outburst that cost him a penalty point and the game.
❌😡 @NickKyrgios crashed out of his #ATPHouston semi-final against @ReillyOpelka today, and this line-call drama only exacerbated his frustrations as he threw things away in the second set. Full highlights here 📺 https://t.co/ykZcGEAHmx pic.twitter.com/HxZRdaYAA6
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_AUS) April 9, 2022
“F***ing out! How are you not calling it? It’s an absolute joke,” Kyrgios muttered after previously screaming out loud “F***!” as he was walking back to his seat for the changeover.
To the Greek Australian’s defence, the umpire admitted later the call at a tight 5-5 second set was disputed with Brace heard saying: “I believe it now, I made a mistake.”
Even at the end of the match, Kyrgios would continue addressing Brace in meltdown mode: “Do you feel bad?” he asked him. “I don’t think you feel bad.”
The world no.102 could possibly face more fines for his behaviour towards umpires, following a recent tally of $80,000 accumulated over his Miami Open loss to Jannik Sinner ($47,000 in total, broken down to $7,000 for audible obscenity, $13,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct and $27,000 for verbal abuse) and $25,000 after his loss to Rafael Nadal at Indian Wells.
