Nick Kyrgios has explained why his heart goes out to Emma Raducanu amid a bizarre incident at the Cincinnati Open.
Raducanu and Aryna Sabalenka were involved in a gruelling third round clash at the Cincinnati Open on Monday.
But the Brit succumbed to the world No.1, who edged out 7-6 (7-3) 4-6 7-6 (7-5) in a gruelling contest that lasted three hours and nine minutes.
The match between Raducanu and Sabalenka will also be remembered for a frosty exchange involving the umpire.
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Before serving a vital point in the third set, Raducanu was held up by a crying child in the stands.
"It's been like 10 minutes," she exclaimed.
The umpire replied: "It's a child. Do you want me to kick the child out of the stadium?”
Raducanu shrugged before some fans shouted 'yes' on her behalf.
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Naturally, the incident between Raducanu and the match official got tennis fans online talking.
People on social media sided with the 22-year-old, calling out the umpire's 'professionalism'.
And, judging by his previous comments, Kyrgios would also likely back Raducanu.
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In a post on X responding to former professionals criticising Raducanu earlier this year, he wrote: "What’s with old retired players giving their opinion on our stars now?
"I love A-rod [Andy Roddick] and I agree we all need to chill with the rackets and all that, but geezus, I read an article about a past female player talking about Raducanu, no offence but she is a far far bigger name already."
Kyrgios also explained why his heart goes out to her.
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"My heart does go out to her," he said on talkSPORT last June.
"I look at that run, I was watching it on TV, she was smiling and enjoying her tennis so much and that whole two weeks for her was an incredible journey and she then won the US Open.
"But since then, I've seen her kind of enjoy her tennis, but I've never really seen her smile and really enjoy it as she did when she won the tournament.
"Whether or not that it's external pressure, I don't know what's going on, but at the end of the day, we play sport because we love it and we go out there because we want to compete and entertain people.
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"I hope that she figures out what's wrong and what's going on there, I hope she finds the answers, but I completely understand.
"Sometimes it just comes with the territory, you can't ignore it."
What did Emma Raducanu say after her battle with Aryna Sabalenka?
The third round clash between Raducanu and Sabalenka at the Cincinnati Open was a repeat of their Wimbledon showdown earlier this summer.
Sabalenka won the match 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 in London before winning their latest meeting in the United States.
Speaking after the game, Raducanu said she was pleased with her improvements she displayed at the Cincinnati Open following their Wimbledon tussle.
"She’s world No 1 for a reason and I pushed her more than I did at Wimbledon so that’s an improvement," she said. "And also, it was good to have this result on a hard court because it’s very different to grass. I was always thinking that grass suits me a lot more and I still believe that so to have pushed her on a hard court like that, I’m pretty proud of it."
Topics: Emma Raducanu, Nick Kyrgios, Tennis
Nasir Jabbar