Before losing a quarterfinal battle with Rafael Nadal in Indian Wells on Thursday, Nick Kyrgios managed to pull actor Ben Stiller into his drama-filled afternoon.
During the three-hour match, the Australian athlete, 26, delayed his serve to reply to a heckler sitting near the “Zoolander” star, 56.
“Are you good at tennis?” Krygios asked, to which the fan replied, “No.”
That’s when Krygios went off, saying, “Exactly, so why are you speaking?”
He then pointed his racket towards Stiller, sitting courtside with wife Christine Taylor, and said, “Do I tell him how to act!? — No.”
The former world No. 13 shifted his focus back to the match, but cameras caught Stiller smirking in his seat.
Kyrgios wound up falling to Nadal, 7-6 (0) 5-7 6-4, who will advance to the semifinal to face Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz.
After the upset, Krygios had an outburst on the court and viciously threw his racket, which bounced and nearly hit the ball boy. He later snapped at a reporter when asked about the incident in a post-match press conference.
Nick Kyrgios yells during his match against Rafael Nadal on Thursday, March 17, 2022 Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Christine Taylor and Ben Stiller sat courtside on Thursday, March 17, 2022, at Indian Wells Icon Sportswire via Getty Images“What would you like me to say about it? Obviously, was that my intention? No,” Krygios said. “Because did I throw the racket anywhere near him originally? … It skidded and nearly hit him. I’m human and things happen like that. It was a very misfortunate bounce. I think if I did that a million times over it wouldn’t have gone that way.”
Kyrgios claimed it was nothing like Alexander Zverev’s recent incident. The German star was disqualified from the tournament after he repeatedly smashed his racket into the umpire’s chair before yelling lewd comments at the official — which included calling the umpire a “f–king idiot” during the match. Zverev was hit with an 8-week suspension.
“Jesus alright, well if that’s what you’re going to come in here to ask me,” Kyrgios said. “It didn’t hit him. It was an accident. It most definitely wasn’t like Zverev. It was a complete accident. It didn’t hit him thankfully. That wasn’t my intention so thankfully the ball kid is OK.”
Nick Kyrgios’ post-match outburst sent his racket flying, almost hitting a ball boy. Getty ImagesHe then mocked the reporter for the inquiry after the marathon match.
“Great question though,” Kyrgios said, adding a sarcastic clap. “Unbelievable stuff. Congratulations man.”
Krygios, meanwhile, took to social media to apologize for this behavior in Indian Wells.
Kyrgios threw his tennis racquet following a loss to Rafael Nadal on Thursday, March 17, 2022 Icon Sportswire via Getty Images“I just want to apologize to that ball kid at the end of the match,” he wrote in a note posted to his Instagram Story. “It was a complete accident and was frustrated at the end of the match. My racket took a crazy bounce and was never my intention. If anyone knows who that ball kid is, send me a message and I will send a racket to him. I’m glad he’s OK!”
Kyrgios then shared screengrabs of an Instagram message exchange with the ball boy, who accepted his apology.
“Made a new friend in the process,” Kyrgios wrote on Instagram, adding, “Accidents happen but we can go out of our way to make things better.”
Kyrgios made plans to meet with the ball boy to personally gift him with one of his rackets.
