Nick Kyrgios’ US Open lasted less than two hours, but it still had its share of controversy.
Kyrgios was demolished by 18th-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut, 6-4, 6-4, 6-0, though it appeared most of his animus was directed at chair umpire Carlos Bernardes.
Kyrgios consistently feuded with Bernardes over the placement of his towel, according to ESPN. The chair umpire requested that the fiery Australian put it closer to the bins against the wall, which caused several eruptions from Kyrgios in which he called it a “f–king joke” that he had to walk “20 extra steps.”
“Look, the towel situation for me is incredibly stupid,” Kyrgios said. “I’m one of the players on Tour that is fully vaccinated. And as of now, I’m getting treated exactly the same as a player that is not vaccinated.
“I feel like if I want my towel around the court, if it’s not disturbing Bautista Agut’s vision, if he doesn’t see the towel, I don’t see anything wrong with having my towel on the side or on the ground. And it’s just absurd for me.”
Beyond the theatrics, it was a particularly disappointing performance for a player of his stature. The 26-year-old has now lost in the first round of three straight events in the hardcourt season.
Kyrgios has publicly been critical of his fellow pros since the onset of the COVID pandemic as the sport’s participants have been particularly slow to get vaccinated. The Telegraph reported that no more than half of the players are vaccinated right now.
Kyrgios has also spoken cryptically in recent months about his tennis future, saying, “I don’t really feel like my body and my mind quite understand the severity of some points.”
He didn’t win many of them on Monday night and he let everyone know about it.
“Look, in the heat of the battle, when you’re getting wiped off the court, it’s never a good thing, so you try and outlet the pressure in many, many ways,” Kyrgios said.
