Nick Kyrgios has dragged tennis into the gutter with his Wimbledon antics, according to Pat Cash.
According to Kyrgios' compatriot Cash, the Australian has taken the sport "to the lowest level" with his on-court behaviour in the first week of the tournament.
The 27-year-old beat fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-7 (2-7) 6-4 6-3 7-6 (9-7) in an enthralling round-three tie on Saturday.
Tsitsipas accused his opponent of "constant bullying" after the ill-tempered clash, which was followed by a riposte as Kyrgios said the beaten Greek was "soft" and denied being a bully.
Kyrgios frustrated Tsitsipas by calling for him to be defaulted after the world number five narrowly missed a spectator when firing a ball into the crowd at the end of the second set.
The umpire was then labelled a "disgrace" during an extraordinary Kyrgios outburst, and his behaviour seemed to get under the skin of Tsitsipas, who was deducted a point for sending another ball towards the spectators before appearing to hit a couple of shots directly at his opponent's body.
Kyrgios has been a repeated critic of umpires and line judges, often appearing to show contempt to authority figures, and Cash – Wimbledon champion in 1987 – has had enough, calling out his countryman's conduct.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, Cash said: "It was absolute mayhem. He's brought tennis to the lowest level I can see, as far as gamesmanship, cheating, manipulation, abuse, aggressive behaviour to umpires, to linesmen.
"He was lucky to even get through the first set, he should have been defaulted in about the first set. Something's got to be done about it. It's an absolute circus.
"Is it entertaining? Yeah, possibly. But it's gone to its absolute limit now."
Asked how he considered Kyrgios to be cheating, Cash said: "The gamesmanship, the stuff that he was doing. The abuse that he was giving Tsitsipas.
"Tsitsipas would make a line call and he'd go up there and he'd start complaining, he was in his face. That's a part of gamesmanship. That's the sort of stuff that he does and I think there's a limit."
Cash's criticism comes ahead of Kyrgios facing American Brandon Nakashima on Monday. That match has been given the prize billing of first up on Centre Court, despite neither man being seeded.
The tennis authorities may not approve of some of the behaviour, but they know there is a huge public fascination with the highly talented Kyrgios, which is why that match has such a prestigious slot. He is 40th in the ATP rankings, and 20-year-old Nakashima is 56th on the list.
Kyrgios is just one win away from matching his best run at Wimbledon, having reached the quarter-finals in 2014 with a win over Rafael Nadal before being beaten by Milos Raonic.
Yet Cash indicated the loudmouthed showman should face sanctions for his actions.
"I have no problem with a bit of gamesmanship, but when it gets to that level I think it's out of control, and it was," Cash said.
"The umpire had lost control, the ball kids were running across the court as Kyrgios was serving. He didn't slow down for any of that stuff.
"Tsitsipas got sucked right in, so it was entertaining, and it was fascinating, but for me it's gone too far now."
Djokovic recovers from slow start to move past Michelsen on Shanghai return
Novak Djokovic marked his Shanghai Masters return with a hard-fought straight-sets win over Alex Michelsen.
The four-time champion, who is appearing in this event for the first time since 2019, required two tie-breaks before prevailing 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (11-9) in just under two hours.
Djokovic, still donning a protective sleeve over his right knee, made a slow start in only his second match since losing to Alexei Popyrin in the US Open third round, winning just four points in the first three games as he fell 4-1 behind.
However, the 24-time major winner broke back in the seventh game before dominating the tie-break for first blood.
Roles were reversed in the second set as Michelsen cancelled out an earlier break in game seven.
However, the American squandered two set points to level and was eventually punished by Djokovic, who will play either 28th seed Flavio Cobolli or three-time major winner Stan Wawrinka in the next round.
Data Debrief: Djokovic continues American dominance
Djokovic was given an early scare, but his experience eventually showed as he came through.
Including team events, the Serb has now won his last 33 ATP-level matches against American opponents, with his last such defeat coming against Sam Querrey at Wimbledon in 2016.
The 24-time major winner also demonstrated his determination when the pressure intensified, and he has now come through 12 of his 16 tie-breaks played this season.
Gauff fights back to beat Badosa in China Open semi-finals
Coco Gauff recovered from a set and a break down to reach the China Open final with a 4-6 6-4 6-2 victory over Paula Badosa on Saturday.
Having given up an early break in the opener, Gauff got one of her own by converting her eighth break point in a mammoth eighth game featuring 10 deuces, only for Badosa to hit back immediately to go a set up.
Gauff lost serve immediately in the second set to go on the back foot, only to level the match with back-to-back breaks, the second of them to love.
The decider began with a series of breaks, Gauff taking two of them as the momentum swung her way, then she protected her lead all the way to reach her first final since winning January's Auckland Open.
The 20-year-old is the youngest player to reach the women's singles final at the China Open since Caroline Wozniacki in 2010.
She has fought from a set down to win in each of her last three matches, the first time she has done so in her career. She is the first player to do so in WTA-1000 events since Iga Swiatek at Indian Wells 2022.
Data Debrief: Gauff brings up century
Saturday's match was Gauff's 100th at WTA 1000-level events, and her 67th such victory.
Among American players, only Serena Williams (87), Venus Williams and Jessica Pegula (70) have bettered her 67 wins through their first 100 matches at such events.
Sinner reaches 250 career wins after seeing off Daniel in Shanghai opener
Jannik Sinner notched up his 250th career win after defeating Taro Daniel in his Shanghai Masters opener.
The world number one wrapped up a commanding 6-1 6-4 victory over his Japanese opponent in just over an hour-and-a-quarter on Saturday.
Sinner, who is fresh from reaching the Beijing final last time out, is targeting his seventh silverware of the season, in which he has already triumphed at the Australian Open and US Open.
"I felt quite comfortable today," said the Italian, who set up a clash with 31st seed Tomas Etcheverry. "I also feel in good shape physically, which is very important for me.
"Of course, I will try to improve for tomorrow's performance, but today I was serving really, really well - especially in important moments - and was moving well."
Data Debrief: 250 up for Sinner
Sinner became the first player born in the 2000s to reach 250 career wins, while taking his tally for a remarkable campaign to 60.
The Italian, who won 64 matches last term, is the sixth player aged 23 or under to record 60 or more ATP wins in successive seasons, after Lleyton Hewitt, Andy Roddick, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
Sinner also maintained his perfect record in opening-round matches this year (14-0), and is now 51-0 against players ranked outside the ATP top 20.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
