By James Cooney for Daily Mail Australia
23:11 03 January 2024, updated 23:11 03 January 2024
- Kyrgios blames ball changes for De Minaur’s win over Djokovic
- The persistent frequent ball changes caused an injury to the Serb’s wrist
- Fans criticized Kyrgios for diminishing De Minaur’s achievement
Nick Kyrgios has been slammed by tennis fans for not giving Alex de Minaur the credit he deserved for beating Novak Djokovic and instead blamed frequent ball changes for the result.
Djokovic was stunned by Australian star de Minaur in Perth on Wednesday, with the hometown hero beating the world No 1 in straight sets at the United Cup.
The Serb needed a medical time out with a wrist injury, sparking concern over his preparation for the defense of his crown at Melbourne Park this month.
Kyrgios, who has been sidelined for some time due to his own injury concerns, cited frequent ball changes on the ATP Tour as a reason for Djokovic’s shock loss.
“Changing balls every week finally got to Novak’s wrist,” Kourgios wrote in X after the match.
“ATP really needs to do something about this problem. Players suffer all the time.’
Fans were not happy with this remark by Kyrgios, who they believed detracted from De Minaur’s remarkable achievement of ending Djokovic’s 43-match winning streak in Australia.
“How about congratulating Alex de Minaur on his win. You have no respect moron,” one user X posted.
“I had to take credit from De Minaur for doing something he couldn’t do,” replied another.
Ouch. Glad you are giving your fellow Aussie some credit,” wrote a third.
“You get paid by Novak to defend him,” suggested another.
Kyrgios noticed the furor his comment had caused and took to the comments section to address the issue.
“Okay, because the noobs who think I’m taking credit away from Alex are just plain dumb. Demon is one hell of a player and deserves every bit of success that comes his way,” Kyrgios wrote.
Although de Minaur defeated Rafael Nadal at last year’s United Cup, the win over Djokovic is even more significant given that the 36-year-old is still at the peak of his powers after winning three of the four slams in 2023.
It also represents de Minaur’s maiden win over a world No.1.
“It’s extremely special. Novak is an incredible competitor,” de Minaur said after snapping the super Serb’s 43-match, six-year streak in Australia.
“It feels surreal, it’s amazing. I’m happy to do it here in Perth and Australia.’
Djokovic entered the match under an injury cloud after damaging his wrist in practice on Tuesday morning.
The 24-time grand slam champion said the injury affected him during Wednesday night’s match but hoped it would not affect his Australian Open campaign.
“He had a really big impact (tonight), especially on the forehand and serve,” Djokovic said.
“Again, I don’t want to spend too much time talking about it and taking credit away from de Minaur.
“I mean, he was very solid, as he always is. Congratulations to him, to the Australian team.’