Aussie tennis great and former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash has accused his compatriot Nick Kyrgios of cheating in an extraordinary spray on British radio.
Speaking at Wimbledon on BBC Radio about Kyrgios’ fiery third round match against Stefanos Tsitsipas, Cash said the Aussie had “brought tennis to the lowest level”.
“As far as gamesmanship, cheating, manipulation, abuse, aggressive behaviour to umpires, to linesmen … he was lucky to even get through the first set, he should have been defaulted in the first set,” Cash said.
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“Something’s got to be done about it, it’s just an absolute circus.”
When asked how he was cheating, Cash replied: “Tsitsipas would make a line call and he’d go up there and start complaining, he’d be in his face – that’s part of gamesmanship, that’s the sort of stuff he does and I think there’s a limit.
“I have no problems with a bit of gamesmanship but when it gets to that level, I think it’s just out of control.
“As it was, the umpire lost control. The ball kids were running across the court as Kyrgios was serving, he didn’t slow down for any of that stuff. Tsitsipas got sucked right into it, so it was entertaining and fascinating, but for me it’s gone too far now.”
Speaking on Stan Sport’s Grand Slam Daily, former Australian Davis Cup captain Wally Masur agreed Kyrgios was definitely “pushing boundaries”.
“Nick says ‘people come to see me play’ and they absolutely do, keep bringing people to the sport. (There are) a lot of people that aren’t really that interested in tennis are very interested in Nick Kyrgios,” he said.
“Nadal and Federer brought a lot of people to the sport too (through) the skill level, the competitiveness, the desire, the character that they displayed, so there’s a lot of reasons that people might switch on the tennis.
“But it’s undeniable he’s creating a lot of interest in the sport but he’s definitely pushing boundaries at times.”
Kyrgios will on Monday night (AEST) take on Brandon Nakashima in the fourth round at Wimbledon.
Masur said Kyrgios should be able to beat the 20-year-old American, but the “emotional dynamic” of the match would be intriguing.
“Nakashima is a really solid player who doesn’t do much wrong – he’s tall, he’s got a big serve, he’s really clinical,” Masur said.
“What I’m curious about is he’s very mild mannered, very calm. So I just wonder what sort of emotional state or what dynamic is created. What Nick do we see in this particular match?
“Nakashima is not going to give him much at an emotional level. He just goes about his business really nicely. He’s going to be competitive on the scoreboard on the back of the strong serve that he does possess.
“I see Nick winning this one in three, possibly four (sets). Nakashima has got the ability to win a set, no question. But the big question for me is which Nick do we see.”
Kyrios is scheduled to take to Centre Court at 10.30pm AEST.
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