NEW BAWLS FOR NICK

Kyrgios blasts the haters but he’s the one who spat at fans and ridiculed senior line judges

IN the pleasant afternoon sunshine in leafy south west London and with a plucky Brit admirably playing his underdog part, Wimbledon’s No.3 Court was a little lively.

But it was hardly a sporting bear pit. It was no Old Firm derby, let’s put it that way.

Yet Nick Kyrgios – who else? – made it sound like some sort of cauldron of hate.

Was Kyrgios within his rights to have a go back at the one or two idiots who shouted abuse at him? Absolutely.

Is he right to highlight the plague of disrespect and abuse aimed at modern-day sports stars? Indeed, he is.

And is Kyrgios alone in pointing out the shortcomings of officials when they surface? Of course he is not. His wider campaign against racial slurs against athletes is also commendable.

But for those who made up the crowd of 2,000, the morons who shouted out that Kyrgios was ‘s**t’ were not the only ones showing disrespect during an entertaining contest with Hull’s Paul Jubb (below).

During a 3-6 6-1 7-5 6-7 7-5 victory over the little-known world No.219, Kyrgios...

*Deliberately volleyed a ball out of the premises in a fit of temper

*Shouted that the trouble with 90-year-old people was that they could not see the ball after a line judge made an erroneous call

*Persistently berated another senior line judge

*Called a female line judge a snitch because she reported his behaviour to the umpire

And, of course, his encore was to SPIT in the direction of the small number of spectators who had been berating him.

In between eating a postmatch meal at his press conference, Kyrgios made some good points, such as this one.

“I love this tournament, it’s got nothing to do with Wimbledon,” he said. ‘I just think it’s a whole generation of people – like on social media – feeling they have got a right to comment on every single thing with negativity.

“It just carries on into real life. There’s a fence there and I, physically, can’t do anything or say anything because I’ll get into trouble. They just feel able to say anything they want.”

But if that is a grim truth spoken by Kyrgios, he is hardly blameless.

After the female line judge had a word with the umpire, here’s what the controversial Aussie said.

“Has one person today come here to see her speak? You got fans but she has got none. She just selfishly walks to you in the middle of a game because she is a snitch.”

There were some lighter moments in a compelling match that swung one way then the other, including an underarm serve from Kyrgios, who had been amused by the reaction to Andy Murray doing similar on Monday. “The first time I did it, it’s so disrespectful, now Andy Murray does it, it’s so smart,” laughed Kyrgios.

But that was a rare moment of levity in a match that left a bitter taste. And it was a shame Jubb’s valiant effort did not get the credit it deserved.

“That’s probably one of the worst matches I’ve played in three years and I somehow won,” said Canberraborn Kyrgios. Perhaps he is not all about respect, after all.