Nick Kyrgios' swipe at Bernard Tomic after Australian Open call

Nick Kyrgios has reignited the ugly war of words with his fierce Aussie tennis rival, Bernard Tomic, after responding to a fan on social media. Kyrgios is currently in Dubai competing in the World Tennis League event where he was supposed to be involved a rematch of this year's Wimbledon final against 21-time grand slam champion, Novak Djokovic.

Kyrgios was scheduled to take on Djokovic in the exhibition team event but the Serb withdrew at the last minute, with Grigor Dimitrov taking his place for Team Falcons against Kyrgios' Team Eagles. A statement from the World Tennis League said: "Djokovic announced he won't be partaking in the WTL tonight due to not feeling 100% well enough to play. Team Falcons will continue to play v Team Eagles, and we look forward to Novak’s return to centre court."

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Amid the drama, Kyrgios has been his ever-present self on social media, tweeting messages and responding to tennis fans. However, when one fan turned the subject to Tomic, the Canberran couldn't resist taking a crack at his old adversary. The social media exchange centred around the six Aussie male and female players who were this week granted wildcards to compete at the 2023 Australian Open.

Tennis Australia announced that three Aussie men - Alexei Popyrin, Jason Kubler, Rinky Hijikata - as well as Australian women Storm Hunter, Talia Gibson and Olivia Gadecki had all been awarded main-draw wildcards to compete at Melbourne Park in 2023. When one user on Twitter suggested that "surely" Tomic deserved a wildcard, Kyrgios fired back: “Hahahahaha NO HE DOESNT”.

The brutal swipe from Kyrgios came out of nowhere and adds another spicy chapter to what has become a bitter rivalry between the two Aussie tennis players.

Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic have bitter history

In May this year, the online feud kicked off between the pair when one social media user suggested that Tomic was the better player between the two - despite being ranked in the 400s and languishing in the Challenger Tour.

Kyrgios - in true form - hit back by pointing to his greater number of tiles, higher rank and vastly superior career earnings as proof that he was the better tennis player. “It’s time for BT to just quiet down. He ain’t even playing anymore. I got years left," Kyrgios wrote at the time.

Things really got heated between the pair, however, when Tomic suggested that the only reason Kyrgios got so annoyed by comparisons to him was because he secretly looked up to the Queenslander. “The only logical explanation is that I’m his idol,” Tomic said.

“He’s always been in my shadow growing up. That’s why anytime someone mentions my name to him, it gets under his skin.

“He knows he can’t re-write history. The records that I set when I was 16, 17, 18, and 19 — youngest slam quarter-finalist at Wimbledon, the biggest tournament in the world."

Kyrgkios responded by writing: “HAHA TOMIC let’s not forget the time I paid for your flight home from Shanghai because you had no money. Hahahaha re-write history, you are the most HATED athlete in Australia. You are right, no one can take over that.”

Tomic finally tried to settle the beef between the pair by suggesting that they both $1 million on the table in a high stakes head-to-head match. “I’ll put up a million and you put up a million, let’s see who is the better player,” Tomic said.

“Let the public see who is better for once and for all. I’ve beaten you easy (sic) before and I’ll do it again. Plus we’ll play on grass so you don’t make any excuses. Anywhere, anytime.” Tomic's challenge made reference to the one and only time they've faced each other in their careers, with Tomic claiming bragging rights at the 2019 Kooyong Classic.

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