Nick Kyrgios was embroiled in another expletive-filled rant as he crashed out of the Canadian Open - and streaming service Amazon were forced to apologise twice for airing the incident.
The 27-year-old had enjoyed the best run of form of his tennis career, winning 15 of his last 16 matches before he clashed with Hubert Hurkacz in the quarter-finals of the Canadian Open. The only defeat in that period came against Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final, which highlights how impressive Kyrgios has been.
Kyrgios suffered a frustrating defeat to the Pole, with the outspoken star battling for two sets before he ran out of gas to lose 7-6(7-4) 6-7(5-7) 6-1. And he was his usual outspoken self, with the fiery Australian launching two foul-mouthed tirades over opponent Hurkacz’s toilet breaks.
He won the second set on a tie-break to level the quarter-final, and Hurkacz decided to take a break between the crucial final set. Kyrgios was not happy with how long it took even though it was within the legal time limit - and new rules meant players are allowed three minutes in the bathroom plus an extra two minutes if they want to change their clothes.
Hurkacz was away for eight minutes and only narrowly avoided a code violation, but Kyrgios was not having it. The Australian turned to the umpire and said: “We're not f***ing machines bro.
“We can't just go and stop, go and stop, go and stop.”
Prime video pundit Nick Lester apologised for the language overheard before Kyrgios did it again. He dropped the point at 40-0 and unleashed his anger, fuming: “No one needs to change f***ing clothes in f***ing 15 degree heat.
“15 f***ing degrees bro.” Lester added: “Again, apologies for the language.”
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The umpire ultimately decided against giving Kyrgios a warning despite the obscenities shouted on court. Ultimately, Kyrgios suffered from fatigue in the third set against Hurkacz, losing 6-1 to the Polish eighth seed.
It makes sense that Kyrgios is suffering from exhaustion after he won the Citi Open singles and doubles in Washington before defeating World No.1 Daniil Medvedev en route to the last eight. Ultimately though, the Australian was not fussed about crashing out of the Citi Open as he revealed the plight of his parents back home.
“I honestly don’t care [about the winning streak ending],” Kyrgios said. “I have been on the road for nearly three months and I’ve been away from home, away from my mom who is in hospital, away from my dad. They’re not very well at the moment. So I don’t really care about no winning streak.
“When I am on the road I just want to put in good performances and make it worthwhile being here. I don’t care about records and that sort of stuff. I just want to make the most of my trip.
“I’ve got two more tournaments [Cincinnati and the US Open] left before I can go home.”
Both his parents, dad Giorgos, who was courtside throughout his All England Club run, and mum Norlaila are both struggling with poor health currently. Kyrgios wrote ‘Be strong Ma’ on a camera lens after defeating Medvedev.
The 27-year-old was noticeably fatigued against Hurkacz but it was his win over Alex de Minaur in the previous round that proved to be far more notable. His 6-2 6-3 victory ensured Kyrgios will be seeded at the US Open, the fourth and final Grand Slam of 2022.
Kyrgios will face exciting Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the first round of the Cincinnati Masters as he seeks to hone his craft ahead of the US Open. The 2022 US Open main draw begins on Monday August 29 and runs for two weeks in New York.
