Even on a day when his on-court behaviour was exemplary, Nick Kyrgios could not resist poking his nose at authority and Wimbledon's all-white clothing rules. The 27-year-old Australian has already picked up two fines so far at the tournament and could face another after walking on court wearing red trainers for his fourth-round match against Brandon Nakashima on Centre Court on Monday.
He played in white shoes but after his five-set win changed back into the red ones and also wore a red cap while doing his on-court interview, having donned a white one during the match. Asked afterwards why he had deliberately broken the rule stating that players must wear all white on court, the Australian offered a curt response.
"Because I do what I want," said Kyrgios, who is into the quart-finals for the first time since his debut in 2014. Asked if he felt above the rules he added: "No, I'm not above the rules. "I just like wearing my Jordans. That's okay. I'll wear some Triple Whites tomorrow."
“Keep doing you then champion”: the way Kyrgios fails to get riled up by this line of questioning is a delight to watch pic.twitter.com/M6u6T94Wu0
— Gavin Coote (@GavinCoote) July 4, 2022
Notably, Kyrgios has already been fined a total of $14,000 for two offences -- spitting towards a fan after his first-round win and then for swearing in a fiery third-round clash with Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Meanwhile, Kyrgios made it to the quarterfinals for the first time in eight years at Wimbledon, beating American Brandon Nakashima in a thrilling five-setter on Monday.
"I need a glass of wine for sure tonight!"
Vintage @NickKyrgios #Wimbledon | #CentreCourt100 pic.twitter.com/PK3NmUqy0n
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 4, 2022
The unseeded Australian, who needed medical attention on Centre Court for his shoulder, and who dropped the opening set, won 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-2 to advance to a match against Chile's Cristian Garin.
The 27-year-old, who upset World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the third round, recovered from a slow start and a right shoulder problem to strike his groundstrokes more freely as the match went on. The World No. 40 hammered 78 winners and broke the 20-year-old Nakashima's serve three times to improve to 11-2 on the grass in 2022.
