Nick Kyrgios has long been seen as tennis’ ‘bad boy’, with many keen to continually brand him with that label.
And, admittedly, the 30-year-old has not helped himself over the years.
His penchant for drawing controversy is second to none, and even now, he continues to divide opinions.
Most recently, Nick Kyrgios has been lambasted for his role in the latest iteration of the Battle of the Sexes. He beat Aryna Sabalenka in a straight-sets match just last month, leading many to question the benefits of such a showdown.
However, nearly ten years ago, it was his home crowd in Melbourne that was expressing their displeasure with what he had done at the Australian Open.
When Nick Kyrgios was booed at the Australian Open
In 2017, Kyrgios was heading into the Australian Open as the world number 13, with plenty of expectation on his shoulders.
And, when he raced into a two-sets-to-love lead over Andreas Seppi, he seemed destined to be soaring into the third round.
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That was, until he inexplicably fell apart.
In a cloud of code violations and unforced errors, the 21-year-old unravelled in an extraordinary display of self-sabotage, losing the next three sets as the crowd turned.
In the end, he left the Hisense Arena to a chorus of boos.
It’s ironic that Kyrgios is now vying for an Australian Open wildcard for the 2026 edition, battling with Stan Wawrinka for a spot.
Nick Kyrgios on his relationship with the Australian Open crowd
Speaking to the press around this time last year, the Australian actually spoke about his tumultuous relationship with his home crowd, particularly in Melbourne.
He recalled the negativity felt earlier in his career and how he worked to fix that in the years that followed.
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Kyrgios claimed: “Yeah, it was crazy. Like, I know towards the start of my career I had a very love/hate relationship with the crowd here. I remember getting booed off that court when I lost in five sets. I tried my nuts off, lost in five sets. I remember getting booed off that court.
“Fast forward to the later stages of my career. I went out there, I would say 65% of my capacity. For them to really see me fighting and still giving me that energy, it meant a lot, because I feel like I’ve given my life to tennis and I’ve tried to give them a show every time I go out there.”
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