Australian hothead Nick Kyrgios delivered a series of outbursts at Wimbledon on Tuesday as he targeted a line judge and members of the crowd while launching a ball out of the stands during his first-round match with Britain’s Paul Jubb.
Notorious for his on-court meltdowns, Kyrgios lived up to his reputation during an ill-tempered contest with world number 219 Jubb.
Inside the first set, Kyrios ranted to the umpire and branded the female line judge a “snitch” who had “no fans” after the officials had engaged in a discussion.
Kyrgios also hammered a ball way over the stands on Court Three in a fit of frustration, earning himself a ball abuse warning as he dropped the first set 3-6.
The Aussie, 27, got himself back on track by taking the next two sets 6-1 7-5, only to lose the fourth on a tiebreak to send the match to a decider, which Kyrgios clinched 7-5 against his spirited opponent.
Kyrgios’ antics frequently punctuated the match as he fumed about members of the crowd for supposedly talking between points.
“They [the fans] have no right to do that, why is it still happening? You should remove them from the crowd. Booing is acceptable at Wimbledon?” Kyrgios ranted at umpire Marija Cicak.
“You have to tell them [to stop]. They're spectators. They don't have any right to do that. They're spectators who spend money to come watch us play. They should be removed.
“I don't go up to their face in their 9-5 and start clapping when they're scanning s**t at a supermarket. They have no right to do that so why does it keep happening?”
The former Wimbledon quarterfinalist was also heard referring to racism, although it was unclear if he meant the current crowd or was referring back to an incident in Germany earlier this month when he accused fans in the crowd of racial slurs.
“So pure disrespect from a spectator to an athlete is acceptable at Wimbledon?” the world number 40 was quoted as saying.
“But you don’t accept a hat with two logos? Where’s the line? That’s acceptable, racism is acceptable so when does it stop? So where’s the line?
“If they were booing between his first and second serves or making racial slurs at him, I would say the same thing.”
Kyrgios has been tipped as among the world’s most dangerous players on grass when in full form, but has frequently allowed his temper to get the better of him on court.