Nick Kyrgios’ show returned to Wimbledon on Thursday night, but not where fans might expect it to be.
The wild Australian faced No. 26 seed Filip Krajinovic in the second round after a first-round match that impacted the world and made him the most talked about player in the tournament.
And he came out of the blocks, using a fantastic serve to win 6-2 6-3 6-1.
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On his way to a five-set win over Paul Jubb on Wednesday morning, Kyrgios called the judge a “snitch” line with no “fans,” argued with the chair referee and spat in addressing the spectators who said they were being disrespectful.
The Canberra man continued to breathe fire at his post-match press conference, where he ate pasta between responses, refusing to apologize for his behavior, duplicating his accusations against misbehaving fans and denying he had any sympathy. by officials.
He was widely criticized in the tennis world and global media personality Piers Morgan called him a “pig” on Thursday, and Erin Molan added “an absolute tool.”
Kyrgios prevails in the wild opening match | 02:59
On Thursday night, tournament officials will closely follow the events of the 27-year-old as the tournament is expected to announce that he will be fined for the spitting incident.
Kyrgios basically plays the third rope against his compatriots Thursday night with Alex de Minaur and Jordan Thompson stepping on the second biggest track in the tournament, while Kyrgios faces Krajinovic second on track number 2, who has a ability to 4,000 people.
Nick Kyrgios. AFP. – Picture of Daniel LEAL-OLIVAS / AFP.Font
De Minaur faces local Briton Jack Draper, while Thompson faces No. 4 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Ajla Tomljanovic and Jason Kubler also play their second round games Thursday night.
There have been suggestions in some media that Kyrgios has been “banished” from the larger stages of the tournament because of his behavior. He played his first round game on track 3, which has a capacity for 2000.
It’s a sizable slap in the face for the Australian star given his appeal at the box office.
The issue is complicated because Kyrgios also plays doubles on the 4th, where he and Thanasi Kokkinakis will open their campaign against Aljaz Bedene and Soonwoo Kwon.
This match is the last match scheduled on track 18.
With the men’s draw open for him, at least one Australian corporate bookmaker moved Kyrgios to the fifth line of betting to win the entire tournament.
It is seen as a potential threat after the semi-finals of the last grass events in Stuttgart and Halle.
In 2014 he was famous for Rafael Nadal on his way to the quarter-finals at the All England Club, but since then he has never made it past the fourth round.