'They're here to watch us, not you!' - Nick Kyrgios in foul-mouthed rants on towels, clock at Australian Open

ByDan Quarrell

Updated 20/01/2022 at 11:19 GMT

"I'm asking you: why did you not have the towels out to begin with?" Nick Kyrgios asked the official during the early stages of his Australian Open second-round clash with Daniil Medvedev on Rod Laver Arena. "Why would you not do that? Why would you not do that? You know that I use my towels, so why would you not have them?"

It would not be an Australian Open without some kind of complaint from Nick Kyrgios about towels, the shot clock or something similar to an umpire.

After seeing his serve broken for the first time in the tournament against "heavy favourite" for the men's singles title, Daniil Medvedev, the Australian decided to express his displeasure in the form of a good old-fashioned towel rant.

At 2-3 down to the Russian in the opening set, Kyrgios found himself already a tad hot under the collar as he remonstrated about the lack of towels at the back of the court during the early stages of the match.

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Perhaps bracing himself for the exchange at the first changeover, the umpire turned to face the 26-year-old and copped a bit of flak over the situation.

"I'm asking you: why did you not have the towels out to begin with?" Kyrgios asked the official.

"Why would you not do that? Why would you not do that? You know that I use my towels, so why would you not have them?"

The umpire responded, impressively diplomatically: "It's the same at every tournament. We have to request - it is the way that they do it now. I'm sorry. We have the same opinion."

Kyrgios, eventually cooled by the umpire's response, finally ended the conversation by saying, "I've got you".

Moments later, the Canberra star delighted the crowd, perhaps sensing they had gone a bit flat by his slow start, with an underarm serve that ended up winning him the point.

'He got away with it!' - Kyrgios underarm serve outfoxes Medvedev

Despite the fact that Medvedev spotted it coming, he was not able to stop Kyrgios from claiming the point with his cheeky showboat.

"He's got away with it! Medvedev was up to it. He stays in touch," said Chris Bradnam on commentary for Eurosport.

Later in the match, Kyrgios ripped into another rant, this time with some foul language, as he berated the umpire over the speed of the shot clock between serves.

"They are here to watch us, not you!" Kyrgios told the umpire.

"Remember, this match is about me and him, yeah? Don't ruin it by putting the clock too fast. Let the people enjoy it without that stupid s*** happening.

"It can't happen, otherwise you will ruin the match. Be reasonable."

'They're here to watch us, not you!' - Kyrgios in foul-mouthed rant at umpire

He was not done there, either. Later in the match he was handed a time violation for taking too long between points on the Medvedev serve.

To say that Kyrgios did not take it well would be an understatement as he declared that "no one cares what you say" in reference to the poor umpire.

'No one cares what you say!' - Kyrgios furious at time violation from umpire

In his first-round singles match, Kyrgios treated the raucous fans on John Cain Arena to a dazzling array of showboats, then later even took a swig of a fan's beer and copied Cristiano Ronaldo's iconic celebration.

Then on Wednesday, the Australian was again entertaining the revved-up masses with more fun and games alongside his good friend and compatriot, Thanasi Kokkinakis, in the doubles.

'Adds to the show!' - Kyrgios drinks fan's beer in celebrating victory

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