Nick Kyrgios was unhappy with the behavior of some members of the British crowd and a line-call intervention during his chaotic first-round win at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships.
Kyrgios was facing home wild card Paul Jubb, who was seeking his first Grand Slam main draw win. Jubb, ranked outside the top 200, gave the fans what they were looking for on Court No. 3. He pushed the former quarterfinalist to five sets.
The Australian star, known for their explosive attitude on the court, had a very difficult start to the match as he expressed frustration to the chair umpire, Marija Cicak over a line call.
With 12 minutes gone on the clock, Kyrgios got into an argument with a line official over a line call as the first set was on serve. When he talked to the umpire, he accused the official of being a "snitch" and asserted that the line official had no fans.
"You can't f***ing decide to talk to me in the middle of the point when I'm about to do a backhand, It can't be happening bro. They can watch the tennis but speaking and shouting out in the middle of the point, like why? I don't know where it was. I know you got fans, but she got none."
Kyrgios, who had never lost to a wild card in his previous four bouts at a Grand Slam, lost the opening set in less than half an hour. He also requested the umpire to deal with the unforgiving British crowd midway through the match, who were ready to see the upset.
But Kyrgios ensured it never happened as he recovered to win in five sets. Having proclaimed himself the best grass-court player in the world a few months back, the 27-year-old will most certainly need to play much better than he did against Jubb. He was relieved he got the job done, as much tougher tests lie ahead.