Nick Kyrgios hits back at 'salty, ridiculous' player for calling him 'an absolute k***' at Australian Open

Nick Kyrgios has hit back at being called «an absolute k***» and being told he has the maturity of a «10-year-old» by a fellow pro at the Australian Open. It was made abundantly clear that doubles player Michael Venus is not a fan of the home favourite and the antics which have helped to make him so wildly popular at Melbourne Park and beyond. Ad/> Venus and his partner, Tim Putz, lost a thrilling three-set doubles quarter-final to Kyrgios and the Australian's friend and compatriot, Thanasi Kokkinakis, 5-7, 6-3, 3-6.

It was a match that was made all the more memorable due to Kyrgios blasting a wild and unnecessary shot into the crowd and hitting a child before running over and giving him a racquet to say sorry. Australian OpenFurious Kyrgios shouts, hits board, destroys racquet in rage during semi-final3 HOURS AGO The New Zealander launched into a rant about the flak he copped from the fans during the defeat on Tuesday in what he described as «not really a tennis match» while slating Kyrgios's maturity level. With the fiery Australian having now won through to the final alongside Kokkinakis, despite losing his cool in a big way, he has responded to the accusations.

«Michael Venus, I’m not going to destroy him in this media conference room right now,» Kyrgios said. «But Zeballos and Granollers are singles players. They’ve had great careers.

I respect them a lot more than I respect Michael Venus. »I think the balance was there today. The quality of tennis was amazing.

I think the festival atmosphere was still there. I think they embraced it. They knew it was an incredible atmosphere.

«Zeballos took a selfie with us before we walked out. That’s how you embrace an atmosphere. You’re not losing a match and then getting salty