Bernie’s $1m challenge for Kyrgios
Putyour money whereyour mouthisor accept I’m better than you
NICK Kyrgios claims he once paid for Bernard Tomic’s flight home so now Tomic is challenging him to a one-off tennis match - with $1 million on the table.
“Put your money where your mouth is or accept that I’m better than you, full stop,” Tomic told the Bulletin on Thursday night.
Speaking from overseas where he is grinding away on the lower level tennis tour trying to build his ranking up from 418 in the world, Tomic added: “Talk is cheap. I’m happy to make it two nil (to me) any time.
“I’ll put up a million and you put up a million, let’s see who is the better player. Let the public see who is better for once and for all. I’ve beaten you easy before and I’ll do it again. Plus we’ll play on grass so you don’t make any excuses.
“Anywhere, anytime,” Tomic, a former world number 17, said.
It is the latest verbal serve between the pair of Aussie tennis stars who have spent the week feuding while both miss the French Open.
It started at the end of last year when Tomic - promising to have a serious crack at the pro tour with an estimated four to five years left in his career - said he was better than Kyrgios and “still am”.
This week, reminded of the boast, Kyrgios told media it was time for Tomic to “quiet down” and questioned if he was still even playing.
“Better in what way? I’ve got a higher career high, more money, more wins and give back whenever I can.
“It’s time for Bernard Tomic to just quiet down. He ain’t even playing anymore. I’ve got years left.”
Tomic responded by saying it was clear he was an “idol” for Kyrgios, having set records as a child prodigy for
youngest Australian Open match winner, Wimbledon quarter-finalist and Australian Davis Cup player.
Tomic, training and touring in Europe with younger sister Sara – now listed as his official coach on the ATP website – told the Bulletin: “Look, the only logical explanation is that I’m his idol - he’s always been in my shadows growing up.
“That’s why anytime someone mentions my name to him, it gets under his skin,” Tomic said. “He knows he can’t rewrite history as well.
The records that I set when I was 16, 17, 18, and 19.”
It prompted Kyrgios to post to his two milllion Instagram followers a claim he once had to pay for Tomic - “because you had no money” - to fly home from Shanghai.
Kyrgios has declared himself a serious threat at Wimbledon next month on his favoured grass.