Stefanos Tsitsipas fired shots at Nick Kyrgios while insisting they were “cool” as he discussed their on-and-off feud. The pair have gone from trading blows to playing doubles together and back again, with their most memorable spat coming at Wimbledon two years ago. While Tsitsipas has now put their clash to bed, he also hit out at the Australian for trying to disrupt him and failing to play fair.
Tsitsipas and Kyrgios have had a rollercoaster relationship, starting back in 2018 when the 28-year-old replied to one of Tsitsipas’ social media photos writing: “Da fuq.” The pair continued to trade blows at each other in the media until 2019, when Kyrgios said he’d like to play doubles alongside the world No. 7.
They did just that in Washington, appearing to form a friendship and trading jokes when they also faced off on the singles court. But their rivalry was renewed at Wimbledon in 2022 in a blockbuster match that saw both men warned by the umpire, with Kyrgios calling for his opponent to be defaulted when he smashed a ball away in anger.
After losing the tie, Tsitsipas called the 28-year-old “evil” and a “bully” as Kyrgios responded: “I’m not sure how I bullied him. 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.” Almost two years on, Tsitsipas has now given an insight into his feud with the former world No. 13, insisting they were fine.
Everything is cool,” the 10-time title winner told the Guardian. “There’s no tension. He’s just different and I have to respect that. It’s great for the sport.” But Tsitsipas still had some parting shots for the former Wimbledon finalist over his previous on-court behaviour.
Tsitsipas continued: “What is not cool, though, is when an opponent is trying to disrupt you during the match and doesn’t approach it fair and square. He’s talking to the umpire, to people outside the court, while you are trying to serve.
“You’re not there to talk, you’re there to play. When things get twisted it can be frustrating. I think he understands he was wrong and as long as he accepts his mistakes and if we have a fair match against each other that doesn’t include any of these antics I am okay to move on.”
Tsitsipas and Kyrgios have not met in an official match since their popcorn third-round encounter at Wimbledon, so it remains to be seen whether they are still civil if and when they face off again. But they won’t be able to renew their rivalry at the upcoming Australian Open, as Kyrgios withdrew injured last month.
The seven-time title winner will still be at Melbourne Park in a different role as he is set to join Eurosport’s on-site commentary team alongside the likes of John McEnroe and Laura Robson. Meanwhile, Tsitsipas will be defending 1,200 ranking points from reaching the final 12 months ago.
