‘We’re Only Human, We’re Not Some Sort of Superhuman’ – Nick Kyrgios Calls for Decency From the Crowd While Referring to Naomi Osaka’s Controversy at Indian Wells 2022

Nick Kyrgios has grown in confidence as the 2022 season has progressed. He didn’t have an ideal start to this season after missing his first tournament of the season in Sydney owing to Covid-19. However, he made a sensational comeback in his ‘home’ Grand Slam. The 26-year-old won the Australian Open men’s doubles title with compatriot, Thanasi Kokkinakis.

Recently, Kyrgios was in Indian Wells to participate at the BNP Paribas Open. He had a decent run in the tournament, before losing out to 21-time Grand Slam champion, Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinal. It was an intense match, that went the distance with the Australian giving his all. However, Nadal used his experience to win points at crucial junctures to extend his unbeaten run this year. After the match, Kyrgios opened up on the crowd behavior at the tournament, referring to Naomi Osaka’s incident.

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Nick Kyrgios opens up on Naomi Osaka’s incident in Indian Wells

Naomi Osaka was disturbed after her second-round loss at the BNP Paribas Open. Subsequently, she burst into tears as she was unhappy with the crowd’s behavior during her match. During the post-match interview after his quarterfinal loss, an interviewer asked Kyrgios to comment on the incident.

He said, “Well for me it wasn’t so much, similar to Osaka situation but I definitely do think that I don’t know like I was actually speaking to some of the physios like I’m not expecting these, the crowd to go for me like I know when you’re playing Rafa like, 99% of the crowd is going to go for these guys and I’m not asking for the crowd to go for me or cheer my name or go nuts for me when I’m winning or losing or anything.”

Further, he added, “I just want people to know that you’re a spectator, you’ve bought tickets to come watch us play, at least don’t scream out before first and second serve that’s all that’s I’m asking for.”

Kyrgios expects the crowd to behave decently during matches

Opening up on the behavior of the spectators during matches, the Australian said, “People in the crowd screaming and I think it’s just this generation like everyone feels like their opinion is valid like when you’re a spectator and you’re watching professionals play tennis, you should just be quiet. Don’t tell me how to play like you could not win a single point against Rafael Nadal. Just sit on your seat and watch me play tennis.”

Moreover, he went on to say, “They think that they have some sort of right to scream out to players like they did to Osaka the other night like it affects people. We’re only human, we’re not some sort of superhuman with armor. Sometimes I do throw a racket and it may get close to someone like I’m not perfect but like what I’m saying is you can’t do that to people like you can’t scream out and aggressively scream at people from the crowd.”

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Talking about his match against Nadal, he said, “I thought it was a decent match. I thought it was a pretty high-level match and I’m just asking for a little bit of respect. “

Can Kyrgios continue his good run in Miami?

Kyrgios would be determined to make the most of the good start to this season. He will next be seen in action at the Miami Open, where he has been handed a wildcard entry. Following his good run at the Indian Wells Masters, it will be intriguing to witness how the former World No.13 fares in Miami.