Boris Becker hits Nick Kyrgios with a savage comeback after Aussie tennis bad boy said the legend wouldn’t cut it in today’s game
Boris Becker’s bitter feud with Nick Kyrgios reached a new level when the legend criticized the Australian for saying he couldn’t beat the name today.
Kyrgios recently said claims that Becker and other top stars of his era would still excel in the sport were “absurd” as tennis had changed so much since the heyday of German tennis in the 1980s and 90s.
“The game was so slow back then,” the 28-year-old said. Athletic This week.
“I watched Boris Becker and I’m not saying that they weren’t good in their time, but to say that they would be just as good now is absurd.
“Back then the big feed was from 197 to 200 km/h. People like me, we serve consistently 220, before corners. It’s a completely different ball game.”
Becker (pictured at the ATP World Tour Finals last month) was not amused when Kyrgios said it was “absurd” to think he could compete in modern tennis.
The Australian had a long-running feud with the German, a six-time Grand Slam champion, and at one stage called him a “donut”.
“But to serve and volley, to do it consistently, you need to serve 220, because if you serve less than 220, bro, Djokovic will eat you alive.”
These remarks prompted a strong reaction from Becker on social media site X.
“Nick has been making a lot of noise about tennis lately!?!” Why is he talking about a sport he apparently hates,” the six-time Grand Slam winner wrote.
“Fact check: Nick has never won a major championship as a player or coach… so where does the trust come from?”
“Talk to your @OnlyFans about a lot of things other than (not) tennis!!!”
Shortly after the post went live, Kyrgios responded with a tweet of his own: “One thing is for sure, I won’t be sitting here in 20-30 years claiming I can compete and be compared to the new guys on block. It’s definitely a matter of ego.”
Becker was one of the sport’s biggest stars during his heyday after making history when he won the 1985 Wimbledon men’s singles title aged just 17 (pictured).
He later doubled down on X, writing: “Also, I mean, I beat Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Murray, so I feel like I have some authority…” But it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that Novak would have wiped the floor with you in his prime? As if this wasn’t an attack. These are just facts.
“Hahahaha, this guy is talking about credibility… last time I checked, you were the one hiding assets, no?” citing Becker’s 30-month prison sentence for tax evasion.
“And I appreciate the support from @OnlyFans!!!! Got Boris Becker talking about the brand!!!! I always knew that you were following my business cooperation.”
While Becker acknowledged Kyrgios won the men’s doubles title at the 2022 Australian Open, he also criticized the Australian for saying Lleyton Hewitt “destroyed” tennis great Pete Sampras at the US Open because his compatriot was “the first prototype of a man who could return a serve”. .
“He made Sampras look like crap,” Kyrgios said.
“What would Djokovic do with a man like Sampras? This will be a cleansing. If Hewitt had done this, Djokovic would have destroyed him. He would eat him alive.
Becker countered this by writing: “Trying to compare generations… Laver vs Federer, Borg vs Nadal, Sampras vs Djokovic!?! I won’t even mention McEnroe, Conners, Lendl, Agassi, Courier, Edberg, Wilander, Kuerten, Bruguera, Rafter, Hewitt and many others.”
The scandal was the latest in a long line of insults the couple have hurled at each other.
In 2020, Becker called Kyrgios a “rat” for calling tennis players who broke Covid-19 rules during the pandemic, and the Australian responded by calling him a “doughnut.”
That same year, Becker told a bad tennis player to “shut up yet again” during yet another pandemic tantrum, when Kyrgios posted a photo of himself playing for the world team at the Laver Cup on social media and captioned it “A Different Breed” ” Becker replied, “In your dreams.”
Kyrgios (pictured with girlfriend Kostin Haci) responded to Becker’s comments by saying the German was on an ego trip.
In January this year, the 56-year-old criticized Kyrgios, questioning whether he was telling the truth about the knee injury that kept him out of this year’s Australian Open.
Becker referred to the fact that Kyrgios played an exhibition match against Novak Djokovic shortly before announcing that his knee had ended any chance of him playing at a home Grand Slam.
“It looked different on Friday night when he played two sets against Djokovic,” he said.
“He talked about injuries beforehand, but to the ankle, not the knee.
“But what Nick Kyrgios says and what he does are often two different things.”