Tensions ran high when the pair faced one another in the Grand Slam’s third round on Saturday
Nick Kyrgios and Stefanos Tsitsipas have been fined after a combustible meeting. © Frey / TPN / Getty Images
Wimbledon bosses have hit Nick Kyrgios and Stefanos Tsitsipas with the joint-biggest fines of this year’s edition of the Grand Slam so far after bad blood ran marred their third-round match on Saturday.
Kyrgios set up a round-of-16 meeting with Brandon Nakashima by surpassing the Greek 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (7) in a tense and tight affair.
After being slapped with a code violation during the win, however, he was hit with a $4,000 fine for yelling an “audible obscenity.”
On the other side of the court, Tsitsipas will have to pay a $10,000 penalty for “unsportsmanlike conduct” stemming from the two ball abuse code violations he was administered during his defeat.
The tipping point of the action came when Tsitsipas knocked a ball into the stands that narrowly missed a spectator.
Kyrgios demanded that his opponent be defaulted for the act, yet play continued with Kyrgios eventually going on to guarantee the continuation of a campaign that sees him capable of matching a career-best run to the quarter-finals in 2014.
Box office.@NickKyrgios defeats Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(7)#Wimbledonpic.twitter.com/pEz7tltCOd
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 2, 2022
The two men traded insults after their clash, with Tsitsipas concluding that his Australian foe must have been a “bully” in his school days for his behavior throughout their meeting and also claiming Kyrgios has an “evil side.”
Kyrgios fired back and defended his corner by calling Tsitsipas “soft,” but this was his second fine of the tournament where he is being talked up as a possible favorite to rival defending champion Novak Djokovic.
After an opening round win over Paul Jubb, Kyrgios was made to part with $10,000 for “unsportsmanlike conduct” for spitting in the direction of a heckler.
“He literally came to the match to not even support anyone really, just to stir up disrespect. That’s fine, but if I give it back to you, that’s just how it is,” Kyrgios said following the five-set win.
“I’ve been dealing with hate and negativity for a long time, so I don’t feel like I owed that person anything,” he added.
While Kyrgios admitted to spitting at the rowdy fan, however, he has pushed the blame onto Tsitsipas for Saturday’s events.
“He was the one hitting balls at me, he was the one that hit a spectator, he was the one that smacked it out of the stadium,” Kyrgios pointed out.
“I didn’t do anything. Apart from me just going back and forth to the umpire for a bit, I did nothing towards Stefanos today that was disrespectful.”
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