Nick Kyrgios has fired back at Piers Morgan for comparing him to Roger Federer. The Aussie has claimed it is “unfair” to expect him or anyone else to live by the standards the Swiss legend set on and off the court.
Morgan’s interview with Kyrgios on TalkTV was released on Friday evening. One of the topics saw the presenter take aim at the 28-year-old for his antics at Wimbledon in 2022.
Kyrgios went viral when he ate sushi during a post-match press conference after a long game at SW19. He also got embroiled in a heated exchange where he hit out at a line judge and called for electronic line-calling to be brought into the sport.
Morgan agreed with Kyrgios’ opinion on electronic line-calling but not on eating while talking to the media. He said it was a stunt that the great Federer would never have pulled in his career.
Morgan said: “I’ll give you the first point. I’ll agree with you about the line calling.
“I’m not going to give you sushi because Roger Federer would never do that, because he’s too classy and he would have too much respect for the journalists. So you’re not going to get a pass on that.”
But Kyrgios took exception to Morgan’s comments and said it is “ridiculous” to expect him to be like Federer. He defended eating at the press conference, claiming he could not be prepared as well as Federer would.
He snapped back: “But I’m not Roger Federer. You can’t expect everyone to be Roger Federer, you can’t do that, that’s unfair. That’s very unfair.
“That means 99 per cent of the tennis tour are not up to Roger Federer’s standards. That’s sport, that’s personality, do you know what I mean?
“He also has nine people in his team to make sure that he has food ready – I only had three. I had my girlfriend, my agent and my physio.
“I don’t have the luxury of having 13 people to tie my shoelaces like Roger Federer or make sure I have a white vest to walk on court with. I have to do these things mostly on my own. To compare Nick Kyrgios to Roger Federer is ridiculous.”
MORE TO FOLLOW
We’ll be bringing you the very latest updates, pictures and video on this breaking news story.
For the latest news and breaking news visit: /sport/tennis. Stay up to date with all the big headlines, pictures, analysis, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you.
Follow us on Twitter @dexpress_sport – the official Daily Express & Express.co.uk Twitter account – providing real news in real time.
We’re also on Facebook @dailyexpresssport – offering your must-see news, features, videos and pictures throughout the day to like, comment and share from the Daily Express, Sunday Express and Express.co.uk.
- Support fearless journalism
- Read The Daily Express online, advert free
- Get super-fast page loading
Source: Read Full Article
