Nick Kyrgios was involved in furious exchanges with a fan, the umpire and his own coaching box in a heated Wimbledon men's singles final during which he twice used the F word in front of two future monarchs. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had brought their eight-year-old son Prince George to Centre Court’s Royal Box for the showpiece final but that seemed to have no restraining effect on Kyrgios, particularly during a tense third set in which he became embroiled in a series of distracting arguments. The Australian, who has already been fined twice during the tournament for his on-court behaviour, looked in control of his emotions while winning the first set 6-4 but things began to turn sour after Djokovic stormed back into the match to win the second set - and the match. As he battled to stay on terms in the third set, Kyrgios lost patience with a supporter he claimed was drunk and distracting him by talking during points.
As he sat down between games, Kyrgios turned his ire on umpire Renaud Lichtenstein, with television cameras recording him shouting: "She's drunk out of her mind in the first row, talking to me in the middle of the game... What’s acceptable? I know exactly which one it is. The one with the dress, the one who looks like she's had about 700 drinks, bro! Talking to me in the middle of the point. Advertisement“Why didn’t you say something at 0-40. Does it get any bigger or what? You want a bigger one - it’s not big enough for you? There’s no bigger match. Well done guys, I can’t do anything. Do you f---ing care or what?”
Andrew Castle, who was commentating for the BBC, apologised for the outburst. “It is live sport and it is tense,” he said. Kyrgios then appeared to become angry with his own support team and began venting his frustrations at his players' box - at the same end as the Royal Box - where his girlfriend Costeen Hatzi and dad Giorgos were among those watching. He repeatedly urged his team to show more support, yelling: "What do you want now? Why would you get to f---ing 40-15 or 40-0 and you all just sit there? Why would you do that?"
He added later in the match: "What are you scared for? Why are you scared to say something? I don't get it. Any of you. All of you went into your shell."
He then sarcastically clapped then with his racket before throwing it down to the floor between games. Kygrios did receive a code violation from Lichtenstein following one of the outbursts.
Kyrgios has history with Lichtenstein, the umpire he called "stupid" and a "f------ idiot" in a row during the 2020 Australian Open. Even John McEnroe, Centre Court’s most famously volatile player, was baffled by Kyrgios’s on-court behaviour. “In a way he beat himself,” he told the BBC. “I don’t get that part [getting angry with his own entourage]. I get that he’s burning off nerves and steam. Maybe they should all go and file out. Maybe that would actually do something. It’s their fault at set all, four all, 40-0!? He lost the game because of them!?”