Max Purcell responds to Kyrgios' vehement comments after doubles final- "I have nothing against them"
ATP
Following his Australian Open doubles victory alongside Thanasi Kokkinakis, Nick Kyrgios lashed out at final opponent Max Purcell in response to some comments made by Purcell after the match.
Kyrgios and Kokkinakis defeated their compatriots in straight sets to win their first doubles Grand Slam title, in front of a very appreciative crowd.
“I think it was great for ticket sales here but I’m not so sure how it was taken overseas,” Purcell said. “If you’re watching some of Nick and Thanasi’s matches earlier in the week and you’re overseas, maybe you get turned off tennis a little bit.
“The fact that we are Australian; I don’t think they went as hard on us as they have the rest of them. I’m grateful for that”.
Kyrgios would take offense to those comments and later blasted his countryman on social media.
"As for Max Purcell, you donut, regarding your comments after the match, you clearly have no idea about entertainment and sport,” Kyrgios wrote in his Instagram Story.
“If you haven’t noticed, there is a reason why people actually come to my matches, it’s because the level and my game are actually worth watching. “Next time you lose another slam final, you should just put your head down and try to figure out how to play the big points better.
“No need to slate other Aussies in the media cuz people would rather watch paint dry than your serve-and-volley game style”.
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Upon learning of Kyrgios's reaction, Purcell would attempt to bury the hatchet and shifted the blame towards fans in the crowd.
"They’re an exciting bloody pair to watch and play against, but I just think some of the crowds they were bringing weren’t quite respectful enough for their opponents," Purcell said, per news.com.au.
“I’ve got nothing against them. When Matty and I are playing, we’re trying to get the crowd involved, but I just think the crowd took it upon themselves to go a little too far.
“But I think it’s great for tennis … it’s promotion for the sport. Doubles isn’t exactly huge out there, so the more coverage we got, the better. It just would have been nice to see the crowd in earlier matches being a little more respectful”.
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.
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