With no series, but with the draw already open for him, hopes were high at Wimbledon for Nick Kyrgios.
Leaving his first set to the 219th best player in the world was not planned.
The Australian suffered a small crisis on the way to a shocking 3-6 defeat in the first set against the British wildcard Paul Jubb, before fighting for a five-set victory, 3-6, 6-1, 7- 5, 6-7 (3/7), 7-5.
He amassed 30 aces and 67 winners in a wild match where he scolded the fans and a line judge, spat in the direction of the interlocutors and threw a ball into the crowd.
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Just three games after the match, Kyrgios ranted in front of the referee, declaring that a line judge was a “snitch” and “had no fans” and apparently questioned his age.
The polarizing British station Piers Morgan attacked Kyrgios on Twitter during the match, writing first: “Kyrgios is so ad ** k”.
After Kyrgios labeled the line judge as a “snitch,” Morgan added, “UPDATE: Kyrgios has updated himself, going from a big ** ka to a nasty bully.”
Kyrgios found it difficult to serve later in the first set, and was not very happy with the treatment of the local underdog fans.
Jubb only made two unforced errors, which allowed Kyrgios to get into trouble, and when he broke down, he hit a ball out of the stadium.
Kyrgios received a ball abuse warning for the incident. It was only the second time in his career that Kyrgios lost his first set of the tournament at Wimbledon.
Nick Kyrgios was there early.Source: supplied
Kyrgios was then forced to save three break points with a 1-1 lead in the second set, before breaking up and winning it 6-1 as things returned to the court.
He continued to attack the line judge throughout the match, saying it was “the worst I’ve ever seen” and asking him to “get off the track” after a canceled call.
Kyrgios won the second and third sets, before losing a tie in the fourth set and throwing another spray at the referee.
Kyrgios broke in the fifth set, but he broke himself when he served for the match, only to break Jubb once more and seal the final set 7-5.
Then, after the match point, he spat in the direction of the interlocutors.
When asked after the match if his spitting was a deliberate act, Kyrgios replied, “In the direction of one of the people I disrespected, yes.
“I wouldn’t do that to someone who supported me.”
The Canberra man will face Filip Krajinovic in the second round, after the Serbian 26th seed defeated Jiri Lehecka in a tough five-set match, with fourth favorite Stefanos Tsitsipas probably in the third round.