Nick Kyrgios couldn't help but laugh at bitter rival Bernard Tomic after the Australian suffered defeat in the shortest-ever ATP Challenger final on record.
Tomic looked in great form for much of the Grossman Pro Tennis Tournament Challenger in Connecticut, beating Max Basing, Alexis Galarneau and Tristan Schoolkate in the latter rounds.
As a result, the 31-year-old reached his first final since 2018.
But he was no match for teenager Learner Tien, who put on a masterclass as Tomic suffered a humiliating 6-0 6-1 defeat at the hands of the highly-rated American star.
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In fact, Tomic broke the record for the fastest final loss in ATP Challenger history [39 minutes], which was four minutes faster than Jo-Wilfried Tsonga's win over Dudi Sela at a 2019 event in France.
Shortly after the match in Connecticut, Tomic's old foe Nick Kyrgios reposted a picture of the result on X, formerly Twitter, alongside a cry-laughing emoji.
It is a rival that goes way back. Back in 2022, the feud between Kyrgios and Tomic reached boiling point as the pair traded blows on social media.
The first serve came from Kyrgios after a fan claimed that his fellow countryman and rival Tomic was better than him.
“Better in what way? I’ve got a higher career-high (ranking,)" Kyrgios responded. "More money, more wins and give back whenever I can. It’s time for BT to just quiet down. He ain’t even playing anymore. I got years left.”
Tomic then posted screenshots of Kyrgios’ quotes to his Instagram and proceeded to fire right back with a hefty backhand.
“The only logical explanation is that I’m his idol. He’s always been in my shadow growing up," Tomic said. “That’s why anytime someone mentions my name to him, it gets under his skin."
Tomic added: “He knows he can’t re-write history. The records that I set when I was 16, 17, 18, and 19 — youngest slam quarter-finalist at Wimbledon (since Boris Becker), the biggest tournament in the world.
“He knows he can’t change that, he can’t re-write that and he would love to shut me up if he could, he knows he can’t. He knows my style dominates his and he knows he will lose.”
Never one to back down, Kyrgios fired back with a story of his own.
Taking to Instagram again, he wrote: “HAHA TOMIC let’s not forget the time I paid for your flight home from Shanghai because you had no money. Hahahaha re-write history, you are the most HATED athlete in Australia. You are right, no one can take over that.”
Topics: Nick Kyrgios, Tennis
Jack Kenmare