Nick Kyrgios and Karen Khachanov’s 2020 Twitter spat ahead of US Open 2022 quarter-final: ‘You absolute pelican’

Nick Kyrgios and Karen Khachanov will meet in the US Open quarter-finals two years after a terse exchange on Twitter which ended with the novel insult “you absolute pelican”. The pair last met at the Australian Open in 2020, with Kyrgios edging the five-set marathon after the final four sets all headed to a tie-break.

Ad The only occasion the duo have traded volleys since that match was on Twitter, back in September 2020. US OpenKyrgios at Nadal and Djokovic’s level, admits conquered Medvedev5 HOURS AGO The Twitter spat started after Khachanov responded to Kyrgios, who had called out Mats Wilander for his comments on Andy Murray, and resulted in a trade of insults.

Kyrgios had been critical of some players’ actions during 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic severely impacted the sporting calendar, and Khachanov rebuked the Australian for posting such opinions on Twitter. Kyrgios had called the ill-fated Adria Tour “boneheaded”, for instance, and backed his decision to criticise players.

Kyrgios at Nadal and Djokovic’s level, admits conquered Medvedev ‘Not easy to stop’ – Corretja toasts ‘stunning’ Kyrgios for outclassing Medvedev ‘Boneheaded play’ – Kyrgios loses bizarre point after rushing to Medvedev’s side to play shot The spat unfolded: Khachanov: “I really think you are a good lad and I don’t have any problem with you. But once you are sitting at home and writing different comments about players that makes me think who has the real problem.” Kyrgios: “So you think what the players did during this pandemic was smart? I’d love to have an intellectual conversation with you but I’m not sure it would go further than how hard you could hit a ball.