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Yesterday’s Wimbledon men’s final saw Novak Djokovic overcome Nick Kyrgios in four sets to claim his 21st Grand Slam title.
Kyrgios, appearing in his first Grand Slam final after Rafa Nadal withdrew from the pair’s semi-final clash due to injury, was perhaps slightly better behaved than at other times during the tournament but the match was not without incident.
For one, a number of F-bombs would have been heard from Kyrgios’s direction by eight-year-old Prince George, who was sat alongside William and Kate in Centre Court’s Royal Box.
Oh, the horror. Wait until he finds out about his great uncle, Prince Andrew.
The Ozzie also called out a spectator he claimed was drunk and heckling him:
“She’s the one who looks like she’s had 700 drinks, bro.”
Nick Kyrgios was fed up with a heckler in the stands at Wimbledon 😅
(via @ChrisHammer180)pic.twitter.com/j5XnPpZWNc
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) July 10, 2022
The spectator, who was removed from Centre Court following Kyrgios’ words, has since claimed she was actually supporting him.
Below via The Telegraph:
Ania Palus, a medical lawyer from Poland who was seated close to the front, was pulled aside and spoken to by stewards shortly after.
But, speaking to reporters, she said she had only had one Pimm’s and a glass of rose – but conceded she had forgotten her hat in the heat.
She said she was backing the Australian, partly because, like him, she has suffered from depression and so could sympathise with him.
“If you think one person saying “Come on, you can do it” is so disturbing that he loses a game… how can he pick up a single fan who is clapping, rooting for him?”
Clearly, he could, and Kyrgios went on to mention Palus during his post-match press conference, saying while he was “all for having a great time” he didn’t enjoy “someone absolutely smashed talking to me point in, point out”.
Stewards and security spent around 15 minutes chatting with Palus before allowing her to return to her seat to watch the rest of the match:
Speaking after the final, she said: “I understand what it is like to be an underdog so I wanted to give him support.
“Maybe I took it too far so for that I am sorry but I only had good intentions.”
Sounds like me after my third shot. Sorry, it went downhill so rapidly after that, I had good intentions!
Back to Kyrgios and his antics, which included becoming angry with his own support team and family sat watching.
Again, via The Telegraph:
“Why didn’t you say something. Does it get any bigger or what? You want a bigger one – it’s not big enough for you? There’s no bigger match. Well done guys, I can’t do anything. Do you f—ing care or what?”
…Kyrgios repeatedly urged his team to show more support, yelling: “What do you want now? Why would you get to f—ing 40-15 or 40-0 and you all just sit there? Why would you do that?”
He added later in the match: “What are you scared for? Why are you scared to say something? I don’t get it. Any of you. All of you went into your shell.”
Ultimately, the Ozzie was fined $4 000 for his behaviour in the final, which is his third disciplinary sanction of the tournament. He’ll hardly feel that hit the pocket.
As for Djokovic, the Serb is now just one Grand Slam win behind Rafa Nadal. although he dwarfs both the Spaniard and Roger Federer when it comes to on-court earnings:
Career Prize Money (UPDATED)
1. Novak Djokovic, 158,947,351
2. Rafael Nadal, $131,054,397
3. Roger Federer, $130,549,339
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) July 10, 2022
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