“Sport he hates”
Boris Becker has a war of words with tennis bully Kyrgios
December 14, 2023, 6:04 p.m
Nick Kyrgios is convinced that the tennis stars of yesteryear would have no chance against the best players of his generation. The Australian uses Boris Becker as a negative example, the German Wimbledon winner complains back.
Three-time Wimbledon winner Boris Becker has had a war of words with Australian tennis professional Nick Kyrgios on social media. “Nick has been making a lot of noise about tennis lately,” said Becker on the X platform: “Why is he talking about a sport that he obviously hates?”
Kyrgios had previously commented on comparisons of stars from earlier times around Becker with the current generation. “The game was so slow back then,” the 2022 Wimbledon finalist told “The Athletic”: “I looked at Boris Becker, and I’m not saying they weren’t good in their time, but to say they are now would be just as good is absurd”. It is a completely different sport. Becker questioned Kyrgios’ credibility given that the Australian has yet to win a Grand Slam title. The eccentric professional triumphed in doubles at the Australian Open in 2022.
“I beat Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Murray,” countered Kyrgios: “That’s why I think I have a bit of credibility.” You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to realize that the Serbian record Grand Slam tournament winner Novak Djokovic would have handled Becker in his prime. “This is not an attack. These are just facts,” said Kyrgios and answered the question of credibility, also with reference to Becker’s prison sentence: As far as he knew, Becker was the one who hid assets.
Becker then wished Kyrgios a speedy recovery. He can’t wait to see the Australian on the pitch again. Due to injury, the eccentric tennis star only played one match this year. First a knee injury stopped him, then a torn wrist ligament. He has canceled his participation in the Australian Open in January 2024 – and recently stated in an interview that he “honestly doesn’t feel like playing anymore. But I have to keep going. I still have so much to give.” Becker himself is now an active part of the tennis circus again: In October it was announced that the German tennis legend would be part of the coaching team of the Danish super talent Holger Rune.