Controversy erupts over Wawrinka's 'disgraceful' move to hurt Kyrgios

Stan Wawrinka didn’t get the chocolates against Nick Kyrgios in Acapulco but he did spark a debate among his opponent, the umpire and tennis fans.

Was he wrong to rile the crowd up in an attempt to gain an advantage over his Australian rival?

Kyrgios won a drama-filled match to reach the Mexican Open semi-finals, beating his opponent and the fans in attendance for the second straight day.

His win over Wawrinka came just 24 hours after outlasting Rafael Nadal in a controversial contest.

The Mexican crowd picked up where they left off, booing Kyrgios when he entered the court and in the very first game when the world No.72 suffered a legitimate injury.

But the back-and-forth between the players erupted in the second set following their respective celebrations.

Wawrinka constantly threw his arms up in the air to get the crowd making noise, and Kyrgios followed suit with boisterous screams on his side of the court.

It was only the Australian who drew the ire of the umpire, however, with the chair warning Kyrgios during one break in play.

“Don’t ever say that to me again, that is bulls***,” Kyrgios told the official.

“I had Rafa yesterday slowing me down before serve, (Wawrinka) is pumping up the crowd. Don’t talk to me like that, I’m pumping up the crowd.”

The commentators sided with Kyrgios throughout the saga, unable to explain why the fans were upset or why the umpire singled out the Australian.

“He’s done nothing wrong there, nothing at all was wrong in that game. It’s what we want to see, isn’t it? Passion, emotion – we had all of it in that game,” one caller said after the exchange.

SURPRISE: Roger Federer backs Kyrgios in Nadal debate

Agitated enough to use it all as a distraction and motivation, Kyrgios said after the match that none of the crowd, the umpire and Wawrinka negatively affected his play.

“I love it. I actually play better when the crowd’s against me and giving me a bit of stick,” he said.

“I love it, it gets me going. Another amazing atmosphere. Yesterday was arguably the best atmosphere I’ve been a part of and today wasn’t too far behind.”

But the crowd, the umpire and especially Wawrinka didn’t receive the same reaction from tennis fans on social media:

Wawrinka was frustrated with Kyrgios’s constant injury timeouts while dealing with cramp in the third set but was otherwise a sporting rival.

He applauded significant winners from Kyrgios and, in contrast to Nadal yesterday, engaged in a respectful handshake at the net following his defeat.

Kyrgios will face countryman John Millman or John Isner in the semi-finals, with a significant recovery challenge ahead of him.

“I was cramping like crazy towards the end of the third set,” he said.

“I was trying to skol any sort of fluid and just try to hit the ball as hard as I could and it ended up working.”