‘I’ve Been Dealing With Hate and Negativity’ – Nick Kyrgios Defends Spitting Towards a ‘Disrespectful’ Fan During the Wimbledon Championships 2022

Over his career, Nick Kyrgios has often been in the news for his unorthodox ways. Be it his underarm serves or his interactions with the crowd, the Australian tennis star often makes things happen on the tennis court. Further, the story has been no different this year. Earlier in the season, Kyrgios received a hefty fine for smashing his racket so hard on the court that it came close to hitting a ball-kid.

The 27-year-old is currently in Great Britain to participate in the 2022 Wimbledon Championships. He had a thrilling opening-round win over the local hero, Paul Jubb. However, during the match, Kyrgios was involved in a controversial moment. The reigning Australian Open men’s doubles champion spat toward a spectator as he felt that the spectator was disrespecting him. After the match, Kyrgios defended his actions.

Nick Kyrgios on spitting toward a disrespectful spectator

During the post-match interview, the Australian star clarified his actions. He said, “Of one of the people disrespecting me, yes. I would not be doing that to someone who was supporting me. I’m okay with receiving a lot of it [heckling]. What I don’t understand is as soon as I give it back, for instance in Stuttgart I gave it back, and I got a game penalty. As soon as I won the match, I turned to him.”

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Further, he added, “I’ve been dealing with hate and negativity for a long time, so I don’t feel like I owed that person anything. He literally came to the match to just not even support anyone really. It was more just to stir up and disrespect.” 

Nick Kyrgios advances at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships

Kyrgios had to dig deep to move into the second round of the grass-court Grand Slam tournament. In a match lasting over three hours, Nick Kyrgios prevailed over Paul Jubb in a five-setter thriller.

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In the second round, Kyrgios will face Filip Krajinovic of Serbia. Their match will take place later today.