Controversial tennis ace Nick Kyrgios admitted to having had six glasses of wine prior to letting loose on the likes of Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem during a boozy Instagram Live video call with Andy Murray.
Fiery Kyrgios’s reputation as the bad boy of tennis continues even with the sports world on lockdown, as the 25-year-old Aussie refused to hold back in his criticisms of his rivals during the conversation with Murray, in which he hailed the Brit as being better than current world number one Novak Djokovic.
The bleary-eyed Kyrgios railed off on a number of topics during the chat which appeared on social media, with the tipsy Australian unable to contain his admiration for Murray.
“You’re too good,” Kyrgios said to Murray. “I’ve already told you… I think you should have one of the best careers ever. I’ve said that to you many times.
“I’m not going to make this controversial, but I honestly think you’re better than Djokovic. People are going to take to social media and say ‘nah, Djokovic won this many Slams’.
“But Djokovic was playing dodgeball with my serve, he couldn’t return it and you’re on it and like, ‘I’m slapping it for a winner’.“
Murray was a little more moderate in his appraisal, saying: “the results would probably suggest otherwise.”
.@NickKyrgios talking to @andy_murray about teams vibing together at the Laver Cup ? pic.twitter.com/r1FloebTJJ
Murray’s current status remains somewhat unclear. It was reported earlier this year that a troublesome hip injury may result in his retirement but that the 33-year-old was holding out hope for at least one more appearance at Wimbledon – before the tournament was nixed due to the coronavirus health crisis.
“I feel pretty good I was doing well before the injury at the Davis Cup,” Murray offered. “I think when things get back to normal I think I will be alright.“
Murray also enquired as to the reasoning for Kyrgios’s rivalry with Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Dominic Thiem – whom he has faced at the Laver Cup as part of Team World versus Team Europe.
“Because it’s fun, they are my best buds [in the world team],” Kyrgios explained.
“They are trying to beat some European guys who have no banter, don’t give one ‘F’ about each other. Which p*sses me off. Let’s be honest Tsitsipas and Zverev hate each other.
“I like to get up and about with the boys. Aussies and people from England, we are the same.
“Do you think me and Dominic Thiem would vibe? No. I’m more invested in maybe, like, a nice cocktail. But my boy D Thiem would be like ‘I want to see this paint dry‘.”
