Rebellious Nick Kyrgios praises ‘role model’ Andy Murray after US Open clash

The 34th-ranked Mayer had given the 17-time Grand Slam champion trouble in their only previous meeting, when Federer saved five match points to win in three sets in Shanghai past year. The 28-year-old Scot faces Frenchman Adrian Mannarino in round two on Thursday.

“If you start getting distracted by that, it’s easy for you to lose your concentration”.

“He’s unpredictable. He can play all of the shots, he serves extremely well, he’s a fantastic guy, covers the court very well”, said Murray.

On court yesterday, Kyrgios was fuming at fans moving between points as early as the fourth game, managed to let his racquet slip from his hand as he lined up a forehand, claimed the floodlights were affecting his serve before he finally picked up a warning for offensive language.

“I thought I played well”. Whatcha Gonna Do? If you’re Nick Kyrgios you’re going to argue, curse, pout, slam your racket onto the court and brazenly feign sleep during the changeover.

Showman Kyrgios has been making headlines for all the wrong reasons, with his sex slur at Stan Wawrinka last month sparking stinging criticism from fellow players.

After his victory over Nick Kyrgios – already a lightning rod for controversy in his young career – Andy Murray spoke about his own maturation process, the lessons he learned about navigating the news media, and the language used in the heat of battle.

John McEnroe blasted Nick Kyrgios as a “bonehead” after the Australian’s latest antics in his first-round U.S. Open loss to Andy Murray.

The 20-year-old Kyrgios showed off his powerful serve and groundstrokes but the 37th-ranked Australian frequently sacrificed efficiency for showmanship and failed to take advantage of his numerous opportunities.

But there would be no recovery in the 12th game as Murray broke to take the opening set.

“When he makes a shot like that, he gets really pumped for the next few points as well”, Murray said.

“I think obviously I’ve had some really big wins”. As well as his questionable verbal dexterity, Kyrgios showed that he can also play the game, even if it is only in fleeting passages. The two strokes are completely different. It’s just the sort of five or 10-minute periods in the match, it happens a little bit too often, where he has dips.

Against Murray, Kyrgios was not exactly concerned with containing himself. “The way the lights were positioned on the roof was tough for me, especially with the ball toss”.