Kiwi doubles player Michael Venus has fired back at Nick Kyrgios following an eventful clash at the Australian Open on Tuesday.
Venus and his partner Tim Pütz lost an enthralling match against Australian duo Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis in the quarter-finals of the men's doubles draw, falling 5-7 6-3 3-6.
In an interview with New Zealand-based outlet 1News, Venus vented his frustrations regarding the attitude of fans and Kyrgios.
It was a rowdy atmosphere at Kia Arena, with fans repeatedly booing/siuuu-ing whilst the New Zealander served.
Kyrgios in particular was seen revving up the crowd between points, too.
“It felt like a circus out there, and not really a tennis match,” Venus explained.
"Between serves, [they were] gee-ing the crowd up and getting them to cheer at times like that.
"I don’t think that’s really on.
“You know if it’s on the other foot, old mate [Kyrgios] would have flipped his lid.
“He already did get mad there by himself ... it’s amazing, he can smash a ball out that hits a kid and just ‘cause he gives them a racquet afterward people can say he’s such a good guy."
Although Venus acknowledged that Kyrgios is a talented player, he did not mince his words when it came to assessing his maturity level.
“On the maturity side, you see why he’s never fulfilled his potential and probably never will,” Venus said.
“His maturity level, it’s probably being generous to about a 10-year-old, it’s at about that level.”
The 34-year-old also revealed he got a number of messages and comments following the match, with a mixture of positive and negative responses.
“The amount of messages I got from people - an extreme amount, way, way more than I’ve ever had - but then a lot of messages from people saying how embarrassed they were with the crowd’s behaviour and they’re sorry, it shouldn’t have been like that,” he said.
“They’ll always be his supporters and he’ll spin it in a way that helps him but at the end of the day he’s an absolute knob.”
Kyrgios and Kokkinakis will play in the men's doubles semi-final at approximately 2:30pm on Thursday, January 27.