Nick Kyrgios worked up a sweat with the chair umpire as he stormed to a 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 comeback over Stefanos Tsitsipas to reach the ATP Halle second round on Wednesday.
The outspoken Australian was warned for slow play as he went to the sidelines to use his towel after two points in the third game of the second set.
After losing the first set to the Greek second seed and smashing a racquet, Kyrgios was in no mood for games with the chair.
After being warned for time-wasting, he sat on his bench mid-game and thrashed out the situation with the supervisor present.
The storm blew over, with Kyrgios returning to the court to finish the game.
“He said I was playing too slow – statistically I’m one of the fastest,” the Aussie said. “I had to walk to the sidelines to get my towel, there is this thing called sweat in 30 Celsius heat that runs down onto your hands.
“I needed to wipe my hands and he gave me a warning.”
Main photo:- Nick Kyrgios and Stefanos Tsitsipas at the net after the match – Paul Zimmer/ATPTour.com
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