Nick Kyrgios has admitted that he had to ‘pay his respects’ to Jannik Sinner after what he saw him do in the Wimbledon final.
It was yet another impressive match from the Italian, who met Carlos Alcaraz for the second time in as many Grand Slam tournaments.
And, having fallen at the final hurdle at the French Open, he was not to be denied in SW19, coming from a set down to claim the title.
However, it was not the manner in which he comprehensively dismantled his opponent but instead a sole moment of magic from Jannik Sinner that left Nick Kyrgios stunned.
Nick Kyrgios reacts to ‘unbelievable’ Jannik Sinner moment in Wimbledon final
Appearing on TNT Sport’s live coverage of the gentleman’s final, their Wimbledon watch-along saw the 29-year-old joined by Dan Evans and CoCo Vandeweghe as they broke down each and every point.
It was not the most professional of shows, but it was certainly entertaining, as the pundits added their own spin on what was happening out on Centre Court.
But, it was when Sinner struck a front-facing tweener that Kyrgios came into his own, almost leaping from his seat and claiming: “Oh, he’s done a tweener!”
He continued: “He’s my favourite player! This was an unbelievable tweener, I have to pay my respects.
“He actually executed it perfectly as well. He missed the smash, though! That’s a 10/10 – oh no, the right foot’s not down…
“Alright, I’m just being tough – I feel like that’s one shot I can critique.”
Kyrgios has critiqued Sinner in the past, so it was nice to see him laud the youngster for a change.
Nick Kyrgios reveals what his relationship with Jannik Sinner used to be like
It seems strange to see Kyrgios praise a player he has so publicly berated, but this was not always the case.
In fact, it almost feels like the poor Italian is just a lightning rod for his wider frustrations about the doping issues that tennis as a sport has, rather than being genuinely frustrated with Sinner himself.
During Wimbledon, in one of his many appearances on talkSPORT, the Australian actually revealed what his relationship with the four-time Grand Slam champion used to be like.
He claimed: “We have never messaged before. The funny thing is, we actually had a decent relationship before the whole [suspension] came around. We actually had a fine relationship.
“We played each other, and we were fine then. It was a zoo of a match, it was in Miami. I got three code violations and nearly got defaulted.
“It was hilarious because I was going nuts that match, the crowd was like a soccer match, and [Jannik] Sinner was sitting so quietly.”
