Fiery Australian Nick Kyrgios was at the centre of a new Wimbledon row on Sunday when he was heard labelling one of his own support team as "retarded". The incident, picked up by courtside microphones, occurred during the second set of his third round match against Feliciano Lopez on Court One late on Saturday.
The Sydney Morning Herald claimed that Kyrgios also accused his entourage of failing to get behind him. Kyrgios was heard to complain that he was "so p***** off" and adding: "Any of you? Any of you? 'Oh, it's a game point, maybe I'll actually give him some support now. It's a game point, pretty big point'."
Earlier this week, Kyrgios's compatriot Bernard Tomic was forced to apologise for using the word "retard" during a Wimbledon press conference. Kyrgios will resume his match with Lopez later Sunday with the third round tie level at 6-3, 6-7 (2/7).
The winner will face second seed Andy Murray for a place in the quarterfinals. Murray defended Kyrgios on Saturday, accusing the media of trying to provoke him into a reaction. "Obviously I'm sure over time he'll start to do better and understand better how to deal with all of the attention and the questions and stuff," said the 2013 champion.
"But sometimes he hasn't done loads wrong, and he's got a rough ride."
The 21-year-old Kyrgios, who beat Rafael Nadal on his way to the quarterfinals in 2014, has already been fined $6,500 at Wimbledon this year.
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