World No. 1 Rafa Nadal may have won the match, but it was Nick Kyrgios who swore, smashed his racket, insulted the hooligans, and somehow dragged Hollywood comedian Ben Stiller into the drama of their explosive quarter-finals in Indian Wells on Friday.
Kyrgios lost to Australian Open champion Nadal in a three-set thriller to end up losing 7-6 (7-0) 5-7 6-4 to end an extraordinary tournament. And fans were treated to 24-carat Kyrgios’ tantrums during a roller coaster collision.
Kyrgios famously managed to beat Nadal in a four-set win at Wimbledon in 2014 to reach the quarter-finals on his way to a career-high ATP world No. 13.
Kyrgios also managed to beat Nadal at the ATP Masters 1000 in Cincinnati in 2017 and in Acapulco, Mexico in 2019, so despite his modest ranking (#132) he still had the opportunity to give Nadal a fair workout in Indian Wells in Friday.
But fans got more than they bargained for, especially Meet the Parents and Zoolander star Ben Stiller, who was caught up in the drama watching from the stands with wife Christine Taylor.
Kyrgios’ most memorable outburst came when he singled out Stiller in a crowd while dealing with a bully. The exchange went like this:
Kyrgios stops the pitch to address the screamer in the stands during the third and final set in Indian Wells.
Kyrgios: Are you good at tennis?
Heckler: “No.”
Kyrgios: Exactly, so don’t teach me how to play. [Pointing at Stiller and his wife who were sitting nearby] I tell him how to proceed? Not.’
Actor Ben Still and his wife Christine Taylor see a funny side to Kyrgios’ antics after being dragged into his tirade against a screamer in the crowd.
While this exchange was amusing, many of Kyrgios’ antics were straight out of his textbook on misbehaving in world tennis tournaments.
In 2019, Kyrgios was notorious for receiving a suspended 16-week ban and an additional $25,000 fine for “aggravated conduct” following a crash in Cincinnati and a tirade against the ATP governing body, described by an Australian troublemaker as “corrupt”.
It started in the first set, which was an exciting fight that ended in a decisive tie-break. Falling into the hole with a score of 0-6, Kyrgios vented his anger at the spectator in the crowd with abuse that could be heard back in Melbourne.
This left the referee in the chair with no choice but to give him a penalty point, which meant he had passed the set.
Kyrgios smashed his racquet, swore at the fans and the umpire and showed all the flamboyance he is known for in his quarter-final failure in Indian Wells on Friday.
While other tennis players might have cooled off after such a wake-up call, Kyrgios was just getting started.
He roared in the second set showing what he was capable of with incredible tennis that stunned Nadal, who has yet to lose a tennis match in 2022. Hewitt and seemed to be channeling his aggression into scoring tennis.
But screamers never liked Kyrgios, and while the Stiller incident was amusing, the second incident was ugly.
With the score at 3-3 in the third and decisive set, one genius in the crowd decided to poke the bear and scream as Kyrgios served, costing him a point and ultimately the match.
Kiryos fell into a complete collapse, insulting the bully, as well as the judge in the chair, Carlos Bernardes.
“How long are you going to let this shit go on?” Kyrgios raged.
“How long bro? How?
“If you had done something about this earlier, this would not have happened. It happens over and over and over again.
“Look at the fucking score… your job is to control [heckling fans]nobody else.
“You let it happen again and again, say something.
“Well done, bro, well done. Incredible crowd control.
‘Well done, bro, well done’: Kyrgios may be in trouble for his tirade against chair judge Carlos Bernardes, whom he accused of failing to control the crowd.
To end the tirade, Kyrgios asked Bernardes, “How are you?” before pointing at his own head and making a grimace, hinting that the judge in the chair might be stupid.
Finally, when Kyrgios lost the match, he shook hands with Nadal before hitting the court with his racket, causing the ball handler to dive for cover.
What would you like me to say about this? Obviously this was my intention? No. Because I dropped my racket. Did I throw the racket somewhere near him in the first place? He landed a meter from my foot, slid and almost hit him. I am human. It happens,” Kyrgios said at the post-match press conference.
“Obviously it was a very bad jump. I think if I had done it a million times it wouldn’t have gone that way. And what do you want me to say? He was three meters away from the kid. That’s the question you — going to say after a three hour fight with Nadal, did you come here with that?
On the contrary, Nadal was a gentleman throughout the competition and praised Kyrgios despite the verbal napalm the Australian unleashed.
“Nick is one of the most talented players on the tour… when he plays with motivation and passion, he can beat anyone,” Nadal said after playing the remainder of the third set.
“Being in the semi-finals is great news for me.”
Australian Open winner Rafa Nadal did his job again, reaching the Indian Wells semi-finals after beating Nick Kyrgios on a roller coaster.