Feisty Greek ace Stefanos Tsitsipas has reignited his feud with Nick Kyrgios after the Australian enigma turned his again on the inaugural version of the United Cup, set to begin in Sydney on Thursday.
Kyrgios pulled out of the 18-team, mixed-team competition within 24 hours of the tournament beginning, citing an ankle harm.
Kyrgios and Tsitsipas were forced to combine for a doubles match at the Diriyah Tennis Cup in Saudi Arabia this month, however any restore their relationship might have undergone crumbled when the latter spoke to reporters on Wednesday.
READ MORE: AFL reject’s stunning road to being MCG hero
READ MORE: Mark Taylor’s big call on Warner after double century
THE MOLE: ‘Most confused player’ who left his club hanging
“It’s not a shock,” Tsitsipas mentioned of Kyrgios’ withdrawal.
“I hope he enjoys his holidays.”
Tsitsipas’ icy relationship with Kyrgios exploded after he was bundled out by the Canberran in the third round of this year’s Wimbledon tournament.
In a sensational press convention on the All England Membership, Tsitsipas branded his rival a “bully” and mentioned he had a “very evil aspect to him”.
Kyrgios had demanded the chair umpire default Tsitsipas for whacking a ball into the group, earlier than threatening to refuse taking part in till each one of many event supervisors appeared on the court docket to debate the matter.
Irked by Kyrgios’ antics, Tsitsipas fired three pictures at his opponent’s physique, leading to two code violations and ultimately a degree penalty.
Watch Crew Australia tackle the world within the United Cup, dwell and unique on 9Now and Stan Sport.
“I do not know the place all of his power comes from,” Tsitsipas added on Wednesday.
“There may be a lot of it. I do not know the way he does it.
“You can not focus by yourself recreation; there’s a lot noise coming from the opposite aspect of the online. It is distracting. You need to be at your finest to beat all of it.”
Djokovic returns to Aussie tennis courts
Australia’s United Cup staff consists of Alex de Minaur, Jason Kubler, John Friends, Ajla Tomljanović, Zoe Hives, Maddison Inglis and Samantha Stosur.
Greece has fielded Tsitsipas, Michail Pervolarakis, Stefanos Sakellaridis, Petros Tsitsipas, Maria Sakkari, Despina Papamichail, Valentini Grammatikopoulou and Sapfo Sakellardi.
“We’re all doing this collectively,” Tsitsipas mentioned of the Greek staff.
“Our staff all have their eyes on the prize, however this (profitable) can solely be achieved by combining forces and committing every single day.
“In the case of tennis, staff occasions are my favorite.
“I’ve lots of religion within the gamers on our squad.
“We’re all striving for excellence collectively.”
For a day by day dose of one of the best of the breaking information and unique content material from Broad World of Sports activities, subscribe to our publication by clicking here!
