Just when you thought Bernard Tomic and Nick Kyrgios were finally choosing tennis over drama and stringing together some good results, one of them goes and triggers an unnecessary feud with the other.
Tomic, on live television, accused Kyrgios of “faking” his illness to get out of Davis Cup duty then expanded on his thoughts in the press conference that followed Australia’s 3-2 defeat to USA last weekend, saying he lost respect for his compatriot.
Kyrgios naturally hit back with three tweets, deleting the one in which he made fun of Tomic’s record 28-minute loss to Jarkko Nieminen two years ago.
The tweets that remained were quite restrained in Kyrgios standards. He said he understood Tomic’s comments were made in the heat of the moment – mid-match in a conversation with Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt – bef-ore adding: “Just don’t expect me to have your back anytime soon.”
A few observations on the whole debacle:
► The thoughts that cross through Tomic’s mind during matches need their own censorship device. Remember when he told umpire Mohamed Lahyani last January in Sydney that he’d rather retire from his quarter-final there as he has a good draw in Melbourne and is already looking ahead? He retired soon after and was accused of tanking. This situation is no different. He was frustrated during his match and blurted out the first thought that came to mind. There is a lesson to be learned here, Bernie: Don’t verbalise your on-court
thoughts, especially next to a microphone.
► Tomic could have gotten away with his mid-match comments, which could have been chalked off as “heat of the moment” statements. But the fact that he chose to stick to his guns in the press conference meant that he really had no problem burning that bridge. Here’s an idea, how about next time you just text Kyrgios and let him know how you feel?
Just don't expect me to have your back anytime soon.
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) March 6, 2016
► Kyrgios tweeting what he thinks before deleting that tweet later is really doing him no favours. In this day and age of screen grabs and internet cache, there is no point in doing that. For someone who prides himself on speaking his mind, backtracking on your own comments is not the best move.
► Kyrgios said in Dubai he was feeling sick and was worried about the rough scheduling of playing Marseille, Dubai and Davis Cup back-to-back. Meanwhile Tomic was in the Acapulco final and had to fly from Mexico to Melbourne, where he played with an injured wrist. Both young players can do with smarter scheduling next time they plan on playing Davis Cup.
Heat of the moment, not gonna take it personally. Indian wells a week away, plenty of time.
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) March 6, 2016
► We should also spare a thought for Hewitt whose debut as Davis Cup captain was clearly a rough experience.
Players of the week
► Heather Watson
Won a 4th WTA trophy, taking out Wozniacki and Bouchard on way to the Monterrey title.
► Andy Murray
Playing for first time in five weeks, led GB to Davis Cup victory over Japan.
Flop of the week
► Sara Errani
A second straight early loss for the Italian since winning Dubai title
Teen of the week
► Borna Coric
Clinched the deciding fifth rubber for Croatia over Belgium’s Kimmer Coppejans.
Looking ahead: Indian Wells
Indian Wells is upon us where all the big names are turning up except for Roger Federer, recovering from knee surgery, and Maria Sharapova, who is struggling with a lingering left forearm injury and has failed a drug test.
An update on my knee recovery, and a cool slow mo: https://t.co/12qnl7hXQA pic.twitter.com/2eCfVlJjJw
— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) February 26, 2016
Talking points
► On the women’s side, world No5 Simona Halep has 1390 points to defend in Indian Wells and Miami and will need to find her form quickly if she doesn’t want to plummet in the rankings.
She was seen hitting with Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi, which sounds like the perfect antidote really, to any problem anyone might have. Meanwhile, world No2 Angelique Kerber only has 75 points to defend in the North American Premier Mandatory tournaments and has a chance to widen the gap between herself and the chasing pack of Agnieszka Radwanska and Garbine Muguruza.
Oh you know just watching @Simona_Halep practicing with @AndreAgassi and Steffi Graf #starstruck #Tennis pic.twitter.com/TOIknRf5h5
— Shanna S (@PinaCocoblog) March 3, 2016
► On the men’s side, an interesting stat shows that a top-five player has won Indian Wells in 14 of the last 15 years (Ivan Ljubicic in 2010 is the exception). Will anyone buck that trend this year? Doubtful!
► Teenager watch:
Daria Kasatkina – one of three 18-year-olds in the WTA top-50 – will be making her Indian Wells debut. Keep an eye out for the young Russian who has made the third round at the Australian Open and semi-finals in St. Petersburg so far this season.
In the ATP tournament, 18-year-old American Taylor Fritz has a wildcard and will be making his Masters 1000 main draw debut. This season so far, Fritz (right) has won a Challenger in Happy Valley, made his first ATP final in Memphis, and made quarters in Acapulco as a qualifier to crack the top-100 for the first time. Definitely one to watch.
► Venus Williams will return to Indian Wells for the first time since 2001 as she will end her boycott on the heels of her sister Serena’s decision to do so last year. Serena had an incredible standing ovation upon her return in 2015. We can expect an equally moving moment for Venus this week.
► It’s been quite a wild season on the WTA tour so far. Here’s a look at the Road to Singapore standings heading into Indian Wells:
1. Angelique Kerber
2. Carla Suarez Navarro
3. Agnieszka Radwanska
4. Serena Williams
5. Victoria Azarenka
6. Roberta Vinci
7. Johanna Konta
8. Belinda Bencic
9. Sara Errani
10t. Jelena Ostapenko
10t. Zhang Shuai
