Tennis ace Kyrgios at center of umpire ‘pep talk’ row at US Open
Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios has found himself at the center of scandal again, after apparently receiving a “pep talk” from the umpire in his second-round game at the US Open.
Kyrgios was 6-4, 3-0 down to Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert and appeared to be putting minimum effort into the match – something he has been criticized for in the past.
Amid a backdrop of boos from the crowd, umpire Mohamed Lahyani stepped down from his chair to talk to the 30th seed, being heard to say: "I want to help you. This isn't you. I know that."
The 23-year-old stormed back to win the match, claiming 19 of the next 25 games and running out a 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-3, 6-0 winner to set up a third-round tie with Roger Federer.
However, the incident has sparked anger as players are not allowed to receive coaching on court.
His opponent Herbert called out the umpire, saying: "I had the feeling [Kyrgios] was not giving 100 percent [before the incident], not focused. For sure from that point something changed. He got better and better until the end.
"The umpire doesn't have to talk to him at all. The only thing he can tell him is pay attention, because if you continue like this, I'm going to give you a warning. He doesn't need to say the words he said on the video."
The USTA said in a statement that Lahyani had simply been checking on Kyrgios's condition, and to inform him that “if his seeming lack of interest in the match continued, that as chair umpire, he would need to take action."
Kyrgios himself laughed off the incident, saying that the talk had not influenced him.
“I mean, like, I don’t have a coach. I haven’t had a coach for, like, years. Of course he wasn’t coaching me. Like, what are you talking about?” Kyrgios said, AP reported.
“He said he liked me. I’m not sure if that was encouragement. He just said that it’s not a good look.
“I wasn’t feeling good. I know what I was doing out there wasn’t good. I wasn’t really listening to him, but I knew it wasn’t a good look,” the Australian added.
I shouldn’t have tweeted so quickly after the match. Everyone is entitled to an opinion but I can assure you it wasn’t coaching. https://t.co/hvlwPyzC0E
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) August 30, 2018
However, the incident didn’t sit well with Kyrgios’s next opponent, 20-time Grand slam winner Federer, who said: "It is not the umpire's role. But I understand what he was trying to do.
"He was there for too long. It's a conversation. Conversations can change your mindset. It can be a physio, a doctor, an umpire for that matter," the Swiss player said, according to the BBC.
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Kyrgios and Federer meet in the third round at Flushing Meadows on Saturday.
