It was a comeback for centuries, but Nick Kyrgios came very close to losing its coolness completely.
The Aussie described his five-set thrush against Ugo Humbert at the Australian Open as “one of the craziest games I’ve ever played” – and for good reason too.
The 5-7 6-4 3-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 back was a box and fourth box office entertainment, but Kygrios ’running battle with umpire chairman Marijana Veljovic was also on the Melbourne crowd the edge of their sets.
Throughout the game, 25-year-old Kyrgios was increasingly obsessed with the automatic net sensor that detects leaks.
It was clear that the technology was wrong and as a result the Aussie fan preferred to miss out on valuable points when his aces are referred to as lethargy.
And in the second set, his problems were alleviated when the chairman’s umpire summoned two rear aces as a drop when they weren’t clear.
“Just turn the machine off. Turn it off,” Kyrgios told Veljovic.
“He happened to be serving (Humbert), he was so far over the net. He’s ruining the game, don’t you understand that? You don’t understand him.
“Look at the score. How do you understand it? It happened in the first set and I told you to turn it off. Did you turn it off?
“I don’t play until you turn it off. Turn it off, it’s so far over the net.”
And in the fifth and final series, Kyrgios thought ‘enough is enough’ and took matters into his own hands.
Lining to serve, Kyrgios put the ball into the net that let the sensor enter the court.
You could argue that it was a complete fluke, but given just how fragile Kyrgios was, it seems very safe to say that it was a deliberate move. .
Playing was eventually stopped when Veljovic came down from her chair to repair the machine and Kyrgios saw the opportunity to give her a piece of mind.
“Look at the score, look at the man of the score,” he said.
7 days ago“It ‘s ruining the game. It’ s ruining the game.
“You don’t understand that ef *** ing is one-all in the fifth set.”
And if his feelings on the issue weren’t clear enough throughout the game, he doubled down during his post-match press conference.
“With technology like that, you’re like a fool trying to argue against it,” Kyrgios said.
“But even when (Humbert) was serving, he was literally so far past the net and the clean thing went.
“It simply came to our notice then.
“If you have a device where you can turn the vulnerabilities down, I just think there are too many variables.
“I don’t know. I don’t have the solution … maybe they need to update their technology.”
Kyrgios will now play Dominic Thiem at number three in the world in the third round of the Australian Open.
And if he can get past Austria, he could set up a legendary grudge match with Kyrgios ’long-time rival Novak Djokovic.