Australian open: Kyrgios fight threat ‘not unusual’, says Tennis Australia boss

On Saturday, the 26-year-old tennis player claimed that the coach of the world No 1 doubles pairing threatened to fight them in the locker room after the Aussie wildcards defeated Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic. However, playing down the incident, Mr Tiley said on Weekend Today that it “not unusual” when there is so much “passion”.

He told the publication: “There was a lot of passion and a lot of energy in the stadium and I think that carried over beyond the stadium.

“I have spoken to Nick and the team and this is not unusual.

“It’s not uncommon … when you have a situation like this and players are beaten and they are expected to win the match and there’s so much passion from the fans.”

According to the reports, the Aussie star was reportedly “accosted” in the locker room after he and Thanasi Kokkinakis stunned top seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic in the second round — with Pavic in particular critical of the way the raucous Aussie crowd behaved during the match.

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However, Mr Tiley’s response stunned Weekend Today presenter Charles Croucher who asked: “Don’t doubt the passion, but are you saying it’s not unusual that a coach would threaten a player after a match?”

Clarifying his stand, Mr Tiley said: “No. We’ll look closely at that, we’ll continue to look closely at that.

“As I said, I’ve spoken to Nick and Thanasi.

“What’s not unusual and what’s not uncommon is the passion, but certainly there are rules and there’s conditions around how you respond at the end of the match.”

Retired Australian player Sam Groth, now working on Channel Nine’s host broadcast of the tournament, revealed that Kokkinakis messaged him during the near-fight, saying: “Thanasi actually messaged me as it was happening.

“He said Nick got accosted in the locker room by Pavic’s fitness trainer.”

Wimbledon and Olympic champions Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic complained about the crowd noise in the Kia Arena after they lost 7-6 6-3.

And Channel Nine posted footage of Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis having an animated exchange with the Croatian pair and their entourage in a players area at Melbourne Park.

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Kyrgios tweeted: “Just letting you know after yesterday’s chop fest in doubles my opponents coach and trainer proceeded to threaten to fight in the players gym.

“Tennis is a soft sport all because I moved and hit them with a tennis ball.”

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