'Harsh boos': Nick Kyrgios slammed before cryptic message

Nick Kyrgios has caused an almighty stir after posting a cryptic message following his late withdrawal from the Winston-Salem Open.

The Aussie announced he would withdraw from his first round match up against his friend Andy Murray just minutes before he was due on the court in North Carolina.

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With the crowd in their seats for the highly-anticipated first-round match at the Winston-Salem Open, an announcement was made that Kyrgios would not be playing with the ATP Tour citing a left knee injury.

Kyrgios, who has slumped to world No.84, has won just one match since making the round of 32 at Wimbledon in June on his return to the tour after a four-month absence.

He was forced to pull out midway through his third round match at the All England Club against Felix Auger-Aliassime with an abdominal injury, and elected to skip the Tokyo Olympics because playing without spectators "doesn't feel right".

The match against his good friend Murray was a chance for Kyrgios to end a three-match losing streak - after defeats to Cameron Norrie in Atlanta, Mackenzie McDonald in Washington and Reilly Opelka in Toronto.

Instead, former world No.1 Murray cruised past lucky loser Noah Rubin 6-2, 6-0 in less than an hour.

However, tennis reporter Stuart Fraser reported boos echoed around the arena after the announcement.

The reaction was similar to that of fans reacting with shock and disappointment on social media.

This prompted a cryptic response from the enigmatic Aussie.

American Rubin stepped in on short notice, having lost a three-set qualifying match to Lucas Pouille less than an hour earlier.

"Originally I was playing Nick and he had an injury to his knee so wasn't going to play," Murray said in his on-court interview.

"I didn't know if I was going to play tonight.

"They said if I was playing against a qualifier then I wouldn't play and then I drew a lucky loser ... so then I was playing Noah ... It was tricky.

"It was obviously difficult for 45 minutes and then the first couple of games because you've gone over a strategy with your coach about the match you're going to play and then obviously that changes."

Murray, a wildcard in the tournament, will face 13th seeded Frances Tiafoe in the second round.

Nick Kyrgios takes shot at Victorian Premier

Only a day before withdrawing from the ATP Tour event, Kyrgios took a shot at Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews.

The tennis sta fired a shot at Victorian state premier over what he believed was an over-the-top comment during Sunday's press conference.

Victoria recorded 65 new cases in the 24 hours to 9am on Sunday morning, prompting the premier to urge Victorians to stay home, despite acknowledging the sunny conditions in much of the state.

However some, including Kyrgios, took issue with what they considered to be excessively theatrical language from Mr Andrews in delivering that plea.

"Sunday I think is going to be quite a nice day — yep, at home. At home. Otherwise, it’ll be lots of Sundays spent in hospital," Mr Andrews said.

While Kyrgios, who has been a vocal supporter of the various health measures since the beginning of the pandemic, continued to support the lockdown, he felt the language was a little much.

"This is ridiculous now," Kyrgios posted on Twitter accompanying a video of the quote.

with AAP

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