Every time Australian ‘bad boy’ of tennis Nick Kyrgios appears on court, the match usually ends in a scandal. This time, however, the Aussie was fully eclipsed by Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, who stole the show on Tuesday.
The ATP Cup match between Kyrgios and Tsitsipas was going well until the hot-tempered Greek lost a first-set tie-break – and started venting his emotions on the court.
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The 21-year-old, who couldn’t hide his disappointment and frustration, angrily smashed his racket – accidentally injuring his father and Team Greece captain Apostolos, who was sitting on the team bench.
Tsitsipas’s mother, who was watching her son’s tantrum from the stands, stood up and leaned over the barriers to tell him off.
The player, currently ranked sixth in the world, was slapped with a code violation from the umpire for his unsportsmanlike conduct.
However, that didn’t calm the temperamental athlete, who received a second violation for hitting the ball after missing two break points.
Despite winning the second set against Kyrgios, Tsitsipas – who won the year-end ATP Finals – lost the match in three sets (7-6, 6-7,7-6), ending his performance at the inaugural ATP Cup.
Greece failed to reach the quarter-finals, suffering defeats to Canada, Germany and Australia.