US Open Tennis 2021 - 'It doesn't make sense' - Nick Kyrgios fumes over having to collect towels during first round exit
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Updated 31/08/2021 at 13:27 GMT
The Australian was defeated in straight sets by Roberto Bautista Agut (6-3, 6-4, 6-0) and lost his cool with the chair umpire Carlos Bernardes after being handed a code violation for exceeding the shot clock. Tennis' coronavirus protocols mean players must walk to collect towels to wipe themselves down in sweltering summer New York heat. Elsewhere, Daniil Medvedev advanced past Richard Gasquet.
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Nick Kyrgios was left furious over the placement of towels as he exited the 2021 US Open in the first round.
The Australian was beaten in straight sets by Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut (6-3, 6-4, 6-0) as he struggled with the sweltering summer New York heat.
Coronavirus protocols at the event mean players must now walk to collect towels if they wish to wipe themselves down.
And Kyrgios was left fuming, berating the chair umpire after he was given a code violation for exceeding the shot clock between points after one such trip to collect a towel.
"Explain it to me. It doesn't make any f****** sense," Kyrgios said to Carlos Bernardes in the chair.
"So I have to walk back to the box to wipe my arms because I'm sweating and I get a time violation, but someone can go to the bathroom for 20 minutes and it's ok?
"My job is to come out here and play for the people. Not to walk back and forth to my towel."
18th seed Bautista Agut kept his composure to move into the second round.
The Spaniard will face Estonia's rising star Emil Ruusuvuori.
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Yet his victory was rather overshadowed by Kyrgios' outburst.
When challenged by umpire Bernardes that the towel situation was "part of the game", Kyrgios was further angered.
"It's not part of the game!" Kyrgios seethed. "So texting someone is part of the game, too? Taking 20-minute bathroom breaks is part of the game?
"Everything's part of the game! I need to take a s*** - ah, part of the game. It's f****** stupid!"
Kyrgios, who withdrew from last year's US Open due to the coronavirus pandemic, had chuntered throughout the contest, also criticising the speed of the court and the scheduling that left a high-profile first round clash being played into the morning in New York.
Elsewhere, second seed Daniil Medvedev recorded the 200th win of his career and advance past Richard Gasquet.
The Frenchman, a semi-finalist at the US Open in 2013, could not match Medvedev even as the Russian tired in the third set in oppressive heat at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Medvedev reached the final two years ago in New York and is tipped to again contend in 2021 in a field reduced in quality due to a number of injuries, including to defending champion Dominic Thiem.
The 25-year-old faces Dominik Koepfer of Germany in the second round.
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