Kyrgios claims opponent's coaches 'threatened to fight' him as video emerges
Nick Kyrgios claims the coaches of his most recent Australian Open opponents sensationally ‘threatened to fight’ him after their match.
The 26-year-old and his compatriot Thanasi Kokkinakis delighted their home crowd with a 7-6 (10-7), 6-3 win over Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic to reach the third round on Friday.
As expected, the Aussie pair had the fans on their side throughout the match, much to the frustration of the No.1 seeds, and it seems the duo’s coaching team were far from happy with the outcome of the result come the end of the match.
Kyrgios took to Twitter, posting: ‘Just letting you know after yesterday’s chop fest in doubles my opponents coach and trainer proceeded to threaten to fight in the players gym tennis is a soft soft sport @TKokkinakis all because I moved and hit them with a tennis ball.’
His partner Kokkinaksi tweeted: ‘That was crazy, mans thought it was UFC.’
Australia’s home broadcaster Channel Nine shared video footage of an animated Kyrgios, wearing red, off the court seemingly explaining the incident to his team.
Things got HEATED in the locker room after Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis’ doubles win ð³ Grothy got the inside word ð¶ï¸#AusOpen – Live on Channel 9 and 9Now pic.twitter.com/iD26iHnUW1
Former player and commentator Sam Groth explained in more detail about the Aussie pair’s claims.
‘Thanasi actually messaged me as it was happening and said Nick got accosted in the locker room by Pavic’s fitness trainer,’ he said.
‘Obviously weren’t very happy, the number one team in the world, number one seeds going down against Thanasi and Nick.
Just letting you know after yesterdayâs chop fest in doubles my opponents coach and trainer proceeded to threaten to fight in the players gym ð¥±ð¥¶ tennis is a soft soft sport @TKokkinakis all because I moved and hit them with a tennis ball ðð
‘Didn’t accept what the crowd was doing, what was happening with Nick.
‘I think it’s just a little bit soft to take it off the court, into the locker room and not even from the players, from someone from the team.’
This is the fourth time Kokkinakis and Kyrgios have played together at the Australian Open but their first time reaching the third round.
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news onFacebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Source: Read Full Article