Another ugly exchange with the chair umpire has overshadowed
Nick Kyrgios's march to the third round at Wimbledon.
Kyrgios joined fellow Australian seeds Bernard Tomic and
Samantha Stosur in the last 32 at the All England Club on Wednesday with a 7-6
(7-5) 6-3 6-4 victory over Argentine Juan Monaco.
The impressive straight-sets victory over the 35th-ranked
Monaco laid down a marker ahead of his rematch on Friday with seventh seed
Milos Raonic, the big-serving Canadian who ended Kyrgios's magical run last
year in the quarter-finals.
But instead of being celebrated, Kyrgios's on-court conduct
was once again questioned following a first-set spat with umpire Ali Nili.
Kyrgios took exception to a linesman reporting the
20-year-old for swearing and took the matter up with Nili.
But when Nili didn't provide the explanation Kyrgios was
seeking, the young firebrand began belittling the American.
"But what did he say? Is that a threat? Is that a
threat?," Kyrgios said.
"Does it feel good to be in the chair up there? Does it
feel strong to be up there?"
Kyrgios continued his attack during his post-match press
conference.
"I just thought he thought he was top dog in the chair
really," he said.
"He was telling me not to speak to him, all that stuff.
Doesn't really matter, you know."
When asked if he was conscious of how much he was swearing,
Kyrgios put his outbursts down to grand slam pressure and a headache caused by
an ongoing sinus infection.
"I'm aware of what I'm saying," he said.
"I'm in pain and I'm playing a tennis match at
Wimbledon second round. A bit of stress out there."
Despite the histrionics, Kyrgios didn't believe he was
"causing any drama" and countryman Matt Ebden hoped the youngster's
running battles with officialdom wouldn't hinder his progress.
On Monday, Kyrgios was forced to deny he was referring to
Mohamed Lahyani when he blurted out "dirty scum ... unbelievable"
after another dispute with the umpire.
"I hope Nick gets it together," Ebden said after
his 6-2 7-6 (10-8) 6-4 second-round loss to American 17th seed John Isner.
"It's not so easy being super young. Bernie was in the
same boat two or three years ago.
"You make a big result the pressure is on you. You have
pressure from agents and sponsors to try and live it up, try and be a big dog,
try and be the coolest guy in the world, try and put a persona on an image.
"It's just fun for him. Some people like it, some
people don't. I guess you have to be a bit careful. I hope it doesn't get in
his way, put it that way."
Tomic earlier overcame London's extreme heat and humidity to
set up blockbuster showdown on Friday with world No.1 and defending champion
Novak Djokovic.
Tomic complained of dizziness as temperatures nudged 30
degrees but showed true grit to grind out a 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 7-6 (7-5)
second-round win over talented young Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert on
Wednesday.
On another fine day for Australia, after its best start to
the tournament since 1999, Stosur outclassed lowly-ranked Pole Urszula
Radwanska 6-3 6-4 to reach the third for only the third time in 13 attempts.
The former US Open champion next meets Coco Vandeweghe, the
big-hitting American who eliminated her from this year's Australian Open.
But John Millman's great run from qualifying is over after
he ran out of steam in a 6-7 (5-7) 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-4 loss to former semi-finalist
Marcos Baghdatis.
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