‘It Most Definitely Wasn’t Like Zverev’- Nick Kyrgios Reacts Angrily to a Journalist After Smashing a Racquet Dangerously Close to a Ball Boy

Nick Kyrgios just makes things happen on the tennis court, doesn’t he? A dynamic personality, he is known for his unorthodox ways. Take for example his underarm serves, which are one of a kind. Earlier today, he played a high-voltage encounter against Australian Open singles champion, Rafael Nadal. Although he lost his quarterfinal match, he gave a good fight against the former World Number 1.

There were many tense moments during their clash. Moreover, with the crowd being highly vocal, it led to many stoppages between the match. Further, after the two players shook hands post-match, Kyrgios was visibly disappointed having come so close to defeating the Spaniard.

He smashed his racquet on the ground. However, he smashed it so hard that it rebounded and came close to hitting the ball boy. Subsequently, the Australian issued an apology for his actions. But Kyrgios reacted angrily when asked about the incident during the post-match press conference.

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Nick Kyrgios gets frustrated by a journalist’s question

During the post-match press conference, an interviewer asked Kyrgios to give his views on the incident that led to his racquet coming close to hitting the ball boy. The Australian said, “What would you like me to say about it? Obviously, was that my intention? No. Because I threw the racquet. Did I throw the racquet anywhere near him originally? It landed a meter from my foot and skidded and nearly hit him.”

Further, he added, “I’m human. Things happen like that. Obviously, it was a very misfortunate bounce. I think if I did that a million times over it wouldn’t have gone that way. And what do you want me to say? It was three meters away from the kid. That’s a question you’re going to say after a three-hour battle against Nadal? That’s what you come here with?”

When the interviewer intervened and said that he saw the boy duck, Kyrgios vented out his frustration and said, “He ducked. Duck. He ducked, he ducked, he ducked. He ducked. Jesus. All right. Well, if that’s what you’re going to come in here to come ask me, it didn’t hit him. It was an accident. It most definitely wasn’t like Zverev, it was a complete accident. I didn’t hit him, thankfully. It wasn’t my intention. So thankfully the ball kid’s okay.”

Despite his loss to Nadal, it has been a decent tournament for Kyrgios. He had been dominant in the earlier rounds, giving his opponents little breathing space. Moreover, he knocked out the eighth seed, Casper Ruud, in the pre-quarterfinals.

Kyrgios will now shift his focus to the Miami Open, where he has been handed a wildcard entry. Meanwhile, Nadal will take on fellow countryman, Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open.

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