What smell did Nick Kyrgios complain about during his US Open match?
From accusing fans of drunkeness, to accusations of domestic violence, the Australian never seems to be out of the headlines for long and with his latest outburst, that won’t change.
Never one to shy away from voicing his opinion, the Australian was back in the headlines following in his victory on Wednesday, but by virtue of a very curious complaint.
Nick Kyrgios doesn’t like the smell of marijuana
During what turned out to be a US Open second round victory for Nick Kyrgios, the outspoken Australian had some complaints about the air quality inside the stadium in New York on Wednesday. To be more specific, on his way to a 7-6 (7-3), 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win over France’s Benjamin Bonzi, Kyrgios drew attention when he expressed his concern to the chair umpire about what he believed to be the smell of marijuana coming from the crowd in attendance.
“People don’t know that I’m a heavy asthmatic, so when I’m running side to side and struggling to breathe already, it’s probably not something I want to be breathing in between points,” Kyrgios said after his match.
Courting controversy appears to be Nick Kyrgios’ way
To be clear, the umpire actually made an announcement following Kyrgios’ complaint, explaining to fans that smoking isn’t permitted near the court. In truth, the US Open has a strict no smoking policy within the confines of the entire facility at Flushing Meadows in New York. That’s not to say that, Kyrgios didn’t smell what he thought he did, just simply that it begs the question as to how fans managed to smoke and more over, marijuana. Incidentally, Kyrgios was also given a warning during the match for swearing at someone on his team that he believed wasn’t supporting him enough. Perhaps the pressure was on for Kyrgios as he was making his first Grand Slam appearance since playing at Wimbledon where he made it the finals earlier this summer.
Fans will of course recall his outburst earlier this year when he accused a woman of having “700 drinks,” and being “drunk out of her mind” during the 2022 Wimbledon final. Since then, the woman in question took the decision to sue Kyrgios for defamation.