Nick Kyrgios finally fired back at rival Alexander Zverev in a since-deleted tweet mocking the world No.7’s attempted tweener during his straight-sets victory over Marco Cecchinato at the Australian Open.
Zverev, who last week declared several young players are ‘just better than him’ (Kyrgios) cruised through to the second round with a 6-4 7-6 6-3 victory on Tuesday.
But the German suffered an embarrassing moment in the final set when an attempted tweener went horribly wrong.
Zverev had an air swing as he tracked back to retrieve a lob, hitting his ankle as the ball kept bouncing slowly towards the back wall.
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The official Australian Open twitter account then stirred the pot by posting a video of the failed tweener with a cheeky request to Kyrgios.
“Dear @NickKyrgios, we think @AlexZverev might need a little ‘how-to-tweener’ … thanks in advance, #AusOpen,” the provocative tweet read.
Dear @NickKyrgios,
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 21, 2020
We think @AlexZverev might need a little 'how-to tweener' 🤨
Thanks in advance,#AusOpen#AO2020 pic.twitter.com/A5rNKsKRLt
And Kyrgios, who last week played down Zverev’s inflammatory comments, couldn’t resist the chance to take a swipe at his rival this time around.
“I agree, lots of better tennis players than me, but if you hit tweeners like this, please shush,” Kyrgios replied before removing his response from his timeline.
Earlier on Tuesday night, the Australian booked his own place in the second round with a 6-2 7-6(3) 7-6(1) victory over world No.53 Lorenzo Sonego.
