Kyrgios wants respect as whiner turns winner
NICK KYRGIOS went from spit to spat after using his sense of injustice to fuel one of the displays of the Championships.
The Aussie bad boy was back on court for the first time since spitting in the direction of a fan and calling a female line judge a “snitch” on Tuesday.
Letting his tennis do the talking, he blasted 50 winners and 24 aces to brilliantly beat Filip Krajinovic on No.2 Court and book a last-32 date with fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Kyrgios said: “I didn’t want to remind people that I’m good – I know I’m good.
“I just feel like I don’t have the respect sometimes.”
The theme established, he took issue with his treatment by the media and added: “This was just kind of a reminder to put you all back in your place.
“There’s nothing you possibly could tell me I did wrong today. I’ve dumbfounded all of you.”
Over on Centre Court, Rafa Nadal took a step closer to his first Wimbledon final for 11 years but was made to work for it by little-known Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis in four sets, winning 6-4 6-4 4-6 6-3 to book a third-round tie with Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego.
The Spaniard said: “I need to improve. It’s important to be humble and accept the challenge.”
Roberto Bautista Agut followed Matteo Berrettini and Marin Cilic in withdrawing after testing positive for Covid.