Nick Kyrgios has taken another dig at 2024 US Open winner Jannik Sinner after a much-criticised comment about his partner Anna Kalinskaya.
Sinner beat American home hero Taylor Fritz in straight sets at the Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday to win his second Grand Slam.
It was an incredible two weeks on the court for the world number one, who lost just two sets on his way to the final in New York City.
In contrast, his main rivals Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic both suffered early exits, while world number four Alexander Zverev made it to the quarter-finals but couldn't defeat Fritz.
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But Sinner was indirectly embroiled in off-court controversy earlier this week when Kyrgios, the 2022 Wimbledon finalist, made a much-criticised comment about his relationship with Kalinskaya, who is Kyrgios' ex-partner.
The Russian is also a professional tennis player, and she is ranked as the world number 15 after the US Open. She reached the third round in New York before losing to Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia.
Kalinskaya was present at the Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday to watch Sinner's final win.
On Sunday, in response to a picture of himself and Kalinskaya at an NBA game while they were dating, Kyrgios wrote: "Second serve." Many saw it as a dig at her relationship with Sinner.
Kyrgios defended the comment later on, writing: "I'm the one that's the bad guy for saying something about it? I never brought it up lol.
"Don't take offence if people are gonna bring it up. Simple. Abusive? What's abusive about what I said? I had no intention to say anything about it. People wanna go there deal with the consequences."
The controversial Australian star has since taken another swipe at Sinner in responding to a post from Piers Morgan.
Morgan referenced Sinner winning the US Open after failing two drugs tests earlier this year.
And Kyrgios replied: "First time in history! We are witnessing greatness!"
The Italian tested positive for a banned substance in March, but was cleared to continue playing. He has always maintained his innocence.
A spray of trofodermin, which contains the banned anabolic steroid clostebol, was bought by Sinner's physical trainer and was responsible for the positive test results.
But the world number one was absolved of fault or negligence by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), with an independent tribunal accepted his explanation that clostebol had 'accidentally entered his system via a product one of his team had used to treat a small wound'.
Several current and former players, though, have questioned why Sinner was not suspended while the matter was investigated.
Tennis legend Roger Federer told NBC's Today show: "I think we all trust pretty much that Jannik didn't do anything.
"But the inconsistency potentially that he didn't have to sit out while they weren't 100 per cent sure what was going on. I think that's the question here that needs to be answered.
"But look, it is what it is. We need to trust the process as well of anyone involved here."
Topics: Nick Kyrgios, Tennis, US Open
Ryan Smart