Nick Kyrgios claimed fans were smoking marijuana during his 7-6 (3), 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win over France’s Benjamin Bonzi in the second round of US Open on Wednesday.
He also unleashed a volley of expletives at members of his entourage in typically tempestuous performance.
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In the second set Kyrgios, who is facing legal action from a fan he said was “drunk out of her mind” at Wimbledon, said a member of the New York crowd was smoking marijuana.
Nick Kyrgios just complained to the chair umpire at @usopen that he smelled marijuana coming from the crowd pic.twitter.com/eYDQXOb2rq
— DannyDanko (@DannyDanko) August 31, 2022
The 27-year-old swore when explaining that to the umpire and added that it could harm players who suffered from asthma, as he does.
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“People don’t know I’m a heavy asthmatic,” said Kyrgios after the match.
“When I’m running side to side, I’m struggling to breathe, [it’s] probably not something I want to be breathing in between points.”
As play resumed, the umpire asked spectators to “refrain from smoking around the court”.
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The Australian was given a code violation during the third set.
Kyrgios appeared to aim a mouthful of spit in the general direction of his box and then dropped several F-bombs at his team after suffering a break of serve.
He later said he had been taken by surprise by the resistance of world number 50 Bonzi.
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“I was literally hanging by a thread. His level today was incredible,” Kyrgios said during an on-court interview.
, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win over Benjamin Bonzi at the US Open.){kind=link}