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Aus Open umpire's brutal response to 'ridiculous' Nick Kyrgios rant

Carlos Bernardes and Nick Kyrgios, pictured here at the Australian Open.
Carlos Bernardes won over the tennis world with his responses to Nick Kyrgios. Image: Channel Nine

Nick Kyrgios had a running battle with chair umpire Carlos Bernardes during his loss to Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open on Thursday night.

But it was the actions of the umpire that won over the tennis world.

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Kyrgios ranted at Bernardes during a tense first set after he felt he wasn't given enough time to recover after a long point.

The chair umpire starts a 25-second shot clock at the end of every point and the players need to be ready for the next point by the time it expires.

“I played a long point point, I instantly went to the towel, I came back and there was seven seconds on the clock," Kyrgios questioned.

"How is that possible? It can’t happen. Otherwise you ruin the match.

“They’re here to watch us, not you, alright. Be reasonable.

“Don’t forget this match is about me and him, yeah? Don’t ruin it by putting the clock too fast.

“Let the people enjoy without that stupid s*** happening, okay?"

However Bernardes didn't want a bar of Kyrgios' rant, dismissing the Aussie star as he stayed calm and collected.

Aussie legend John Fitzgerald noted that Bernardes “just smiled that off” and took aim at Kyrgios.

“Being reasonable is actually being reasonable for both players and adhering to the time frames,” he said.

“With respect, that’s a ridiculous request.”

Nick Kyrgios, pictured here in a running battle with the chair umpire during his clash with Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open.
Nick Kyrgios had a running battle with the chair umpire during his clash with Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open. (Photo by WILLIAM WEST/AFP via Getty Images) (AFP via Getty Images)

Nick Kyrgios in running battle with chair umpire

Kyrgios was then left fuming in the second set when he was hit with a time violation while Medvedev was serving.

“All I did was walk to my towel. I walked to my towel. Usually the ball kids give me the towel,” Kyrgios said.

Bernardes responded: “You are receiving, not serving. You delay him.”

Kyrgios then ranted: “Listen, I don’t want to talk to you, listen to me, yeah.

"Usually the ball kids give me the towel, yes or no? Usually, yes, they do, right? So all I did was walk to my towel. That’s all I did.”

Carlos Bernardes, pictured here during Nick Kyrgios' clash with Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open.
Carlos Bernardes looks on during Nick Kyrgios' clash with Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images) (Cameron Spencer via Getty Images)

Commentators pointed out that ball kids haven't been giving players their towels since the start of the Covid pandemic.

Bernardes then won over the crowd during another tense exchange with Kyrgios in the fourth set.

Kyrgios was again left fuming when fans yelled out during a long rally and blasted the chair umpire for not warning the spectators.

Bernardes then announced: "Ladies and gentlemen, if you do not hear the ball called out it's because it was good."

Spectators at Rod Laver Arena broke out in laughter and applauded Bernardes, as did TV viewers watching at home.

Kyrgios wowed fans with his incredible array of tricks but was eventually outclassed by the ice-cool Russian, bowing out with a 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 4-6 6-2 defeat.

"He's just so confident right now and to be honest I threw everything I could at him," Kyrgios said.

"I served consistently 220km/h for three-and-a-half hours and played pretty well from the back, created plenty of opportunities on return game.

"I'm super proud of my performance though, from where I was with my struggles the last four or five months.

"To be feeling like this and obviously having Covid a couple of days before (the tournament), I'm just proud of the way I responded and I wouldn't have been able to do it without my team."

with AAP

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