"Dirty tennis" - Nick Kyrgios resumes feud with Stefanos Tsitsipas in cheeky social media post

Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios has made fun of Stefanos Tsitsipas after the Greek’s mother made comments about their Wimbledon encounter in July.  

Speaking to the Greek City Times recently, Julia Sergeyevna Apostoli said Kyrgios is the only player that puts her son out of his right mind. Moreover, she accused the Australian of underhanded tactics in their third round Wimbledon battle in the summer.

“In the Wimbledon match, Kyrgios decided to ignore the general rules of sports,” she said. “The match became very strange and nervous because he was playing ‘dirty’ tennis. Stefanos doesn’t play like that. He completely lost his temper due to the behavior of his opponent and lost the match without being any worse on the court.”

Kyrgios has fed into the drama by posting a highlight from their match on his Instagram story. Accompanying the clip he writes ‘dirty tennis’ in direct reference to Apostoli’s comments.

The pair have clashed five times at tour level, with Kyrgios coming out the victor on four occasions. He only lost to Tsitsipas at the 2021 Laver Cup in Boston. Following their tense encounter at Wimbledon, both men had stern words for each other.

Tsitsipas described Kyrgios as a ‘bully' who has a ‘very evil side to him. Kyrgios responded by claiming Tsitsipas is disliked on tour and in the locker room, adding that he has ‘serious problems.

Both men are listed to compete at the final Masters 1000 event of the season in Paris at the end of the month. Should both take to the court it would provide the possibility for their first showdown since SW19.