BBC pundit Nick Kyrgios hit out at a fellow Wimbledon commentator for what he believes to be a “disrespectful” comment during Alexander Zverev’s fourth-round match with Taylor Fritz.
The Aussie has been working for both the Beeb and American counterparts ESPN at the Championships, while continuing his rehabilitation from injury, earning rave reviews for his no-nonsense approach to tennis analysis.
And the outspoken 29-year-old has extended that to his social media channels, complaining about another commentator at SW19 for their negative outlook on Zverev’s clash with Fritz.
Zverev was seen with strapping on his left knee and had not moved as freely as he would have liked, due to a fall into the umpire’s chair during the previous round, but took the first two sets and put one foot in the quarter-finals.
But the analyst was seemingly unimpressed with the level of entertainment, much to the disbelief of Kyrgios.
He wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter): “‘Not captivating’ – was a comment from a commentator who is doing the Zverev & Fritz match. This alone tells me that they have probably never played tennis at a high level. 2 of the most elite servers we have. Quite disrespectful. Cmon be better.”
Kyrgios then followed up by explaining why he was drawn to the contest. “Context,” he wrote. “Tour serve quality 7.8 Zverev & Fritz both above 9. lol.”
When a fan questioned the enjoyment factor of a match between two players with exceptional serves, the new BBC addition replied: “Two of the best backhands on tour. Know ball.”
Zverev took the first two sets 6-4 7-6, brushing off early concerns about his knee, looking to eclipse the fourth round at Wimbledon for the first time in his career and set up a tie with Lorenzo Musetti.
