Nick Kyrgios Flashes Temper and Restraint in French Open Win

N. Djokovic v. A. Murray 2015 French Open Men"s Highlights / Semifinals
Photo Nick Kyrgios returned a shot from Marco Cecchinato. Credit Thomas Samson/Agence France-Presse Getty Images

PARIS For much of the first half of 2016, Nick Kyrgios avoided the kind of on-court outbursts and controversies that were part of his breakout campaign last year. In contrast with his past behavior, he has not accosted any fans or made audible, inappropriate remarks about an opponents girlfriend.

There are moments when Kyrgios can be downright charming, even during his first-round match Sunday, when he repeatedly complimented his opponent and helped him find a lost piece of equipment.

But then there is his more volatile side, which resurfaced in a profane confrontation with the chair umpire in the same match and lit a spark on a rainy opening day at the French Open.

Later, rain suspended about half of the remaining matches, leaving Kyrgioss outburst as the most prominent event of an otherwise disappointing afternoon at Roland Garros.

I thought it was really tough, Kyrgios said, referring to the conditions. He used the same general terminology to describe the code violation that was assessed against him.

During his three-set match with Marco Cecchinato of Italy, which Kyrgios won, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (6), 6-4, he barked, Towel! at a ball person, who was not as prompt with it as Kyrgios would have liked.

Carlos Ramos, the chair umpire on Court 1, immediately issued a code violation, which prompted Kyrgios to claim at the time that he was the victim of unbelievable bias.

Photo Kyrgios had reason to celebrate his tennis performance, but his intensity with the chair umpire was different. Credit Dennis Grombkowski/Getty Images

But at least Kyrgios, an Australian who is seeded 17th, was able to complete his match, unlike Kei Nishikori, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Heather Watson, whose matches were suspended. The American Jack Sock, seeded No. 23, had just lost a fourth-set tiebreaker to Robin Haase when play was called just after 6 p.m. They were scheduled to play the fifth set Monday.

Those who finished included Petra Kvitova, the No. 10 seed and one of several contenders in a muddled womens field hoping to upset Serena Williams. She beat Danka Kovinic, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, on Court Philippe Chatrier.

The 11th-seeded Lucie Safarova, who lost to Williams in last years final and is regaining her form after several injuries and illnesses, defeated Vitalia Diatchenko, 6-0, 6-2, in 56 minutes.

Most of the worlds elite players, including Williams, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal and last years mens champion, Stan Wawrinka, were not scheduled to play Sunday.

Before the rain, the local favorite Benot Paire of France, the No. 19 seed, beat Radu Albot, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4. Igor Sijsling of the Netherlands was also able to defeat Adrian Ungur of Romania, 6-1, 6-2, 7-6 (5), and will play Kyrgios in the second round.

In his postmatch interview, Kyrgios, 21, was asked one question about Sijsling. Most of the rest were about his dispute with Ramos in the first-set tiebreaker.

The incident came after Kyrgios had lost a point. He later claimed that with the crowd noise, the ball person had not heard him the first time, so Kyrgios had to yell louder. Ramos may have been quick to unholster the code violation, but he demonstrated patience after that as Kyrgios strung together a couplet of obscenities in protest.

How can you sit there and give me a code for that, but when Djokovic pushes an umpire out of the way, thats all right? Kyrgios asked Ramos. Tell the whole world thats all right.

Kyrgios was referring to an incident at the recent Rome Masters in which Djokovic pushed aside the umpires hand while they were examining where a ball landed on the red-clay surface. Djokovic was not penalized, and Kyrgios suggested that he suffered from a double standard.

I mean, I think we all know in this room if that was me that did that, it would be an absolute circus, Kyrgios said during a postmatch news conference. But if he did it, you know, nothing really happened of it. It speaks for itself.

Kyrgioss past behavior does invoke close scrutiny from commentators, fans and tennis officials. He has yelled at umpires and spectators and has made comments that have angered sports officials in Australia and beyond. The incident that created the most turmoil happened last August in Montreal. During a changeover, Kyrgios informed Wawrinka that his girlfriend had been romantically involved with another player, igniting the ire of Wawrinka and other players on the tour.

Earlier this month, Kitty Chiller, the former pentathlete and the chef de mission for the Australian Olympic team, said that Kyrgios and his fellow Australian Bernard Tomic had to improve their behavior or risk being left off Australias team at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Kyrgios adopted a more conciliatory tone after the match than he had demonstrated on court.

Its not an easy job out there, he said of the umpires. Especially five-set matches, to concentrate, I think they do a good job. All in all, they do a good job.

Kyrgios was also gracious toward his opponent. Even during some of the more contentious points of the match, he repeatedly lauded Cecchinato for making a nice drop shot or an impossibly good serve.

He even helped Cecchinato by finding his racket dampener after it had fallen off.

While Cecchinato looked frantically to and fro, Kyrgios spotted the tiny object on the side of his court, picked it up and tossed it over the net to his grateful opponent. Perhaps that is why Cecchinato deflected a question about Kyrgioss confrontation with the umpire.

I dont know what he said, Cecchinato said. I dont care. He plays very good. He has a big serve, and I like him.

Correction: May 22, 2016

An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated the score of Benoit Paires victory over Radu Albot. The score of the fifth set was 6-4, not 6-5.

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Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/23/sports/tennis/nick-kyrgios-temper-french-open.html