Nick Kyrgios, who is known for his outbursts during tennis matches, had another run-in with a spectator in the stadium during his recent Indian Wells Masters quarter-final loss to Rafael Nadal. A supporter in the stadium was yelling at Kyrgios as he played against the 21-time Grand Slam winner. Not one to back down, Kyrgios confronted the heckler by asking if he was good at tennis. “Exactly, so why are you speaking?” Kyrgios screamed as the fan responded with a “no.”

The 26-year-old then pointed to Hollywood celebrity Ben Stiller, who was also in the audience, and said, “Do I tell him how to act? No!”

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As Kyrgios resumed his game, the camera shifted to Stiller, who appeared amused by what the tennis star had said.

One admirer remarked on the video, “Love how he doesn’t fit the old, typical mould of a tennis player.”

Nadal defeated Kyrgios in straight sets, 7-6(0), 5-7, 6-4, to go to the semifinals. The victory also improved the Spaniard’s record to 19-0 this season, the third-best start to a season since 1990.

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Kyrgios walked to his seat after the post-match handshake and smashed his racket on the ground. It bounced up and nearly hit a ballboy standing in the back of the court. The incident’s footage instantly went popular on social media. Later, the Australian tweeted a copy of his text exchanges in which he apologised to the ballboy and offered to give him a racquet.

When asked about the incident in the post-match news conference, Kyrgios reacted angrily.

He argued the terrible episode was scarcely worthy of mention, certainly not on the magnitude of ATP colleague Alexander Zverev’s breakdown in Mexico, which saw tennis the German being fined $40,000 for slamming an umpire’s chair with his racket.

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“Did I originally throw my racquet anywhere near him (the ballboy)?” Kyrgios asked. “It landed a meter from my foot and skidded and nearly hit him.”

“I’m human. Things happen like that. It was an accident. It most definitely wasn’t like Zverev. It was a complete accident. I didn’t hit him, thankfully. It wasn’t my intention.”

“So, thankfully, he’s OK.”

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Kyrgios was booed and cheered as he walked off the court.

Nadal’s undefeated streak in 2022 came to an end on Sunday night as he was defeated in the final of the Indian Wells Masters by American Taylor Fritz.