Australian top seed Ash Barty has given her take on the impassioned home crowds after Nick Kyrgios warned that cracking down on boisterous behaviour is sure to kill the atmosphere.
It was another spirited crowd that turned out for Kyrgios’ second-round clash with world No.2 Daniil Medvedev last night, which saw the 26-year-old exit the Australian Open in four sets.
Barty has opened up on playing in front of Australian crowds after Kyrgios called for more control over noise between serves but warned “it’s about time that people embraced some sort of different energy”.
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“It makes a difference,” Barty said on Nine’s Today about playing in front of a home crowd.
“You hear the Aussie accent and it makes a difference.
“What stands out for me is the kids’ voices. You always hear the kids, sometimes at the wrong times but it’s the perfect time. When they’re screaming or they’re having fun – that’s what I love the most.”
Medvedev blasted the Rod Laver Arena crowd over its rowdy behaviour between serves, labelling it “disappointing” and saying those doing it “probably have a low IQ”.
The activity of the crowd was a hot talking point in Kyrgios’ post-match press conference.
“Yeah, I told the umpire. I also said that in my (first-round) match against (Liam) Broady that obviously the media didn’t pick up,” Kyrgios said.
“But I said, ‘You should tell the crowd not to scream out before’. Whether it’s me … I don’t really care honestly too much if it’s my serve. Obviously big points, no. But if it’s like 40 love, one up … I told the umpire, ‘Tell the crowd to quiet down’.
“My opponent might not like that. I think it’s actually the umpire’s job to control the crowd rather than try to be the star, because no one came to watch the umpire play tennis.
“That’s his job to control the crowd and monitor it … A bit of common sense at times. Giving someone a time violation at 40 love down is probably not controlling the crowd.
“There are other things you could be doing in monitoring.”
Then came Kyrgios’ warning.
“I thought the atmosphere was awesome. I thought the crowd was like … That’s what sport is,” Kyrgios said.
“You’ve got the most entertaining player playing in his home slam on Rod Laver. You’d expect the crowd to be like that.
“I can understand it’s a gentleman’s game, but it’s about time that people embraced some sort of different energy in this sport. Otherwise, it will die out. It’s just that simple.”
Barty will tonight meet Italian Camila Giorgi after cruising through matches against Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko and Italian Lucia Bronzetti in the first two rounds.
Barty has two singles grand slam titles beside her name, having conquered Roland-Garros in 2019 and Wimbledon last year.
The 24-year-old is striving to become the first Australian woman to win the Australian Open since Chris O’Neil in 1978.
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