Nick Kyrgios Had Himself a Good Old Fashioned Meltdown Today At The Miami Open

Michael Reaves. Getty Images.

The ever-changing puzzle of a human being that is Nick Kyrgios was out to play today and we got ourselves a meltdown. You really never know what you're going to get with Nick and that makes me watch him every time he steps on the court. Earlier in the tournament he dispatched top 10 player Andrey Rublev in insanely easy fashion. When he's on and locked in there's almost nothing you can do. You catch him on a day like today and the window to win swings wide open. 

One thing is for certain, when Carlos Bernardes is the chair umpire for his matches you know it's going to be a doozy. These two do not like each other in the slightest and that rivalry was out in full force Tuesday. 

(Quick refresher: tennis version of technical fouls are called code violations. First time it's a warning. Second is a point penalty, third is a game, and fourth is a DQ)

Early in the match Nick dropped a few f-bombs after complaining about the speed of the court. Eventually the umpire gave Kyrgios a code violation for swearing. Later in the set the umpire's walkie talkie went off at full blast during a Jannik Sinner service game. Nick lost his mind even though it came 40-15 on Sinner's serve and likely wasn't going to change much. During the ensuing tiebreak Kyrgios received a point penalty for talking shit about the umpire to his friend who was sitting in his player box. This felt unnecessary to me by the umpire since you couldn't hear any of it, but this Carlos Bernardes guy had enough. After the tiebreak the meltdown continued…

That forced the umpire to give him another code violation resulting in a full game penalty. The free game gave Sinner an automatic break to start the set which is all he needed to hang on to win the match. 

Advertisement

Yeah not great. I love Nick, but these moments where he loses it are obviously brutal. When he keeps his focus and just plays tennis he's incredible to watch. Best thing for the sport honestly. When he wasn't losing his mind today, he basically played even tennis with Sinner. Unfortunately he continues to be his own worst enemy and it almost always dooms him. 

I'm not defending Kyrgios in the slightest here, especially since he really was overreacting to nothing. I will say matching him up with this umpire is setting him up for failure. He's under the microscope from the coin toss with this dude. Also ATP, let the players swear. What pro sport do you get penalized for cursing when it isn't directed at anyone. Lame rule. Penalize racket smashes and arguing with officials sure, but cursing at no one in particular? Come on now.

P.S. Credit to the 20 year old Italian Jannik Sinner for keeping his composure during all that and playing lights out. Kid is a star. 

P.P.S. Worth noting Kyrgios and his boy Thanasi Kokkinakis won in doubles after this match. They're through to the semi of that draw where they continue to dominate as a team. When he's with a teammate he stays composed and is never gonna have these kind of moments.