Australian Open 2021 – Nick Kyrgios says ‘nut case’ on-court persona won’t cloud off-court perspective
The following written content by Matt Walsh
MELBOURNE, Australia — It didn’t take too long before Nick Kyrgios was drawing headlines at the 2021 Australian Open.
Down a break at 0-2 in the first set against Portugal’s Frederico Ferreira Silva on Monday evening [AEDT], Kyrgios turned his attention to his player’s box, loudly exclaiming: “Tell your girlfriend to get out of my box!”
It’s unclear exactly who and what he was referring to, but it proved the catalyst for a quick turnaround in fortunes; Kyrgios quickly broke back and evened the contest at 2, then muttering under his breath: “Wonder why?”
From there, the Australian was about to take a 5-4 lead in the set before again halting proceedings, this time yelling out to a member of the crowd for speaking between his opponent’s first and second serves. “Be quiet bro, have some respect for the kid,” Kyrgios said.
He approached the chair umpire after that game, asking him loudly if he was going to do anything about it.
Kyrgios went on to take the first set and was rarely challenged en route to a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, victory — occasionally offering himself some advice, in the process, and at one point asking his opponent for an unused towel during a change of ends.
After the match, he said was trying to amp himself up and adjust to the pace and expectations that come with Grand Slam tennis — something he has missed over the past year.
“I’m a nut case when I’m on court, [but] it was just heat-of-the-battle type stuff,” Kyrgios said. “It was just being out there, all those emotions again. I was almost like saying, ‘Dude, it’s time to wake up.’ It’s not just like, you know, a 250 [event]. … [In] my mind, I was like, ‘Dude, it’s the Australian Open again.'”
With a year off professional tennis, Kyrgios shifted his emphasis to off-court activities, from his NK Foundation, which works with underprivileged children, to his charitable work, where he delivered much-needed groceries to Australian families in need. At last year’s Open, he made a serve pledge that helped kick off a mammoth fundraising effort for bushfire relief. Read more from ESPN.
