Nick Kyrgios has fired back at tennis legend Martina Navratilova following his five-set thriller against Dominic Thiem after the tennis legend questioned his character.
Ahead of his third round-clash with Thiem, Navratilova alongside Sports Illustrated executive editor Jon Wertheim and Tennis Channel host Steve Weissman discussed the volatile nature of his tennis career.
The 18-time grand slam champion pondered whether he was a good or bad guy, questioning his emotional growth over the past 12 months.
"As a tennis player, you get thrust into the adult life very early on before you are really ready for it emotionally," Navratilova said.
"The emotional growth comes in bits and pieces really and it is delayed really.
"I think give him a chance maybe to catch up to that and, as he said he feels grounded, put down some roots and figure out who you are and that can only be good for his tennis.
"I don’t know if he is a good bad guy or a bad good guy but he’s both."
“You so want to like him and then he does something.”
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This angered Kyrgios, who responded to the video of her comments on social media.
“YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ME," he said in all caps on Twitter.
YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ME.
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) February 12, 2021
Despite the agonising loss to the world number three, Kyrgios was proud of his performance against Thiem after a 13-month lay off, full of praise for the Austrian.
"I’m pretty proud of myself, I took 13 months away from the game and to produce that level and go toe-to-toe with one of the best players in the world,” Kyrgios said in his post-match press conference.
“I actually physically felt pretty good, I’m sore now but he’s a hell of a player, he’s so disciplined, he’s so composed and his level doesn’t drop.
“It is what it is, I’m not disappointed at all. I’m super proud of everything I’ve done the last couple months to get ready for it and good luck to him, I hope he does well because he’s a hell of a player.”
