Kokkinakis: Tomic should have kept Kyrgios thoughts private

Thanasi Kokkinakis feels fellow Australian Bernard Tomic was wrong to publicly accuse Davis Cup team-mate Nick Kyrgios of faking illness to get out of their tie against the United States last week.

Published : Mar 09, 2016 10:03 IST , Tennis, Nick Kyrgios, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Bernard Tomic, Australia, Davis Cup

Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic could face off at Indian Wells having been drawn in the same quarter.
Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic could face off at Indian Wells having been drawn in the same quarter.
lightbox-info

Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic could face off at Indian Wells having been drawn in the same quarter.

Thanasi Kokkinakis feels fellow Australian Bernard Tomic was wrong to publicly accuse Davis Cup team-mate Nick Kyrgios of faking illness to get out of their tie against the United States last week.

But the injured teen is not expecting any repercussions from the feud which was sparked when Tomic hit out at Kyrgios by saying he was faking the illness that kept him from playing in the tie.

He continued those accusations after the match, claiming he would lose respect for his Australian team-mate if he showed up to play at Indian Wells this week.

Kyrgios responded on Twitter, prompting Kokkinakis to intervene, and the 19-year-old said Tomic should have kept his issues private.

"Obviously, Bernie shouldn’t have done that. If he had a problem he should have kept it behind closed doors,” Kokkinakis told News Corp.

"It probably would have made the whole thing smoother, especially with the types of headlines in the past - it’s probably not the right way to go about it.

"It’s just given people fuel to talk about it. They did it to themselves."

He went on to add that he believed Kyrgios was genuinely ill and expects the two to put their differences behind them.

Kyrgios and Tomic could face off at Indian Wells having been drawn in the same quarter.

Kokkinakis — one of Australia's brightest prospects — has been absent from the ATP Tour after undergoing shoulder surgery in December and remains in doubt for the French Open, which starts on May 22.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment