By Scoop Malinowski
This week Nick Kyrgios graciously answered tennis fans questions on Twitter including one particular seemingly harmless query: “What’s the toughest part of playing Fed?”
Much to the surprise of everyone, Kyrgios replied: “Mirka heckling and whistling at me between serves!!”
Nick then quickly added “just kidding” but which part is he kidding about? That that really is the most difficult aspect of playing Roger? Or that Mirka does not and never would interfere with one of Roger’s matches?
Mirka Federer has already come under fire for her noisy involvements in at least one important match of her husband – the 2014 World Tour Finals semifinal against Stan Wawrinka who openly chastised Mirka for her distraction methods during the match. Wawrinka complained about it but the controversy was soon smoothed over and Stan and Roger teamed up a week later to win the Davis Cup for Switzerland, amid rumors that Stan requested to Roger than Mirka not be present at the final tie vs France.
So now Kyrgios has again, in a joking manner, alleged that Mirka Federer heckles and whistles between serves.
Could it be true? Could it really be true that Mirka Federer aggressively distracts certain opponents of her husband?
Such an underhanded scheme has happened before in tennis. One former pro player told me he was playing Marcelo Rios in Davis Cup and was trailing two sets and finally had a break point at 3-3 in the third set. The player said a fan in the crowd made a noise with a noisemaker during the service motion of Rios and Rios subsequently double faulted and then proceeded to lose the match. This player did not confess to manipulating the fan to do this but he did offer sly smile when describing the memory which indicated that he had indeed pre-planned the ploy.
So these kinds of incidents, while rare, do happen in pro tennis.
And now that Kyrgios has put it out there, it will be most interesting to see how Federer responds. This is a notable jab and puncture of his pristine image as a near peRFect sportsman.
Kyrgios has played three extremely close and competitive matches with Roger Federer, including two classics this year, the three tiebreaker Miami epic and the sensational Laver Cup showdown two weeks ago. The Federer vs Kyrgios rivalry is one of the best in pro tennis today.
And Kyrgios challenging and outing the Federer box for unsportsmanlike conduct, or misconduct, will surely add another dimension and layer of controversy to this intriguing rivalry.
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1 2 3 Next »Joe Blow · October 21, 2017 at 1:57 pm
It’s stupid BS like this that makes you want to go back to pre-internet days. Bloggers got to blog, so you can spin anything any which way.
In all the years of Feds career, there has been one incident. Wawrinkagate, IMO, think that was Mrs Fed being pissed at Waw for ditching his wife and kid, for Vekic, seems that’s about when that was going on( too many Psych courses in College)
.Now the mouth that had the balls to say what he did to Wawrinka about Vekic,comes up with a new story. Conspiracy theorists like Scoop will run with it, and away we go
. In all the years that Mrs Fed has been sitting there, with TV cameras on her, probably fans pointing cell phone cameras at her, no one has said a word about her behavior. Maybe Kyrgios was saying it tongue in cheek, playing the media.
Maybe Mrs Fed is an A-hole, would only prove that opposites attract☺️
scoopmalinowski · October 21, 2017 at 2:15 pm
Tv cameras have shown Mirka cupping her hands and yelling many times over the years. Whatever she did to Wawrinka he was extremely annoyed by it. I think its a very interesting story that Kyrgios has now made public. Good for him for doing that. Intentionally distracting a player is very very poor sportsmanship but it happens. I remember seeing momma Graf clapping her hands in first row apparently to bother Seles at Madison Square Garden. Seles was too focused to be bothered though.
Joe Blow · October 21, 2017 at 2:24 pm
Your favorite wife/cheerleader is Djokovic’s wife. She’s was only encouragement, never anything at the opponent. Spin is great, topspin, slice, or conspiracy spin
catherine · October 21, 2017 at 2:39 pm
If this has been going on constantly then I think someone else, in fact a lot of people, would have noticed and Mirka would have been reprimanded. That hasn’t happened.
And when everyone else is yelling during a match then Mirka’s free to yell too. Doesn’t amount to distracting a player. And the tv camera’s focus on her, no doubt.
Nick was joking. There are quite a lot of interesting stories going around in tennis, no doubt, but this isn’t one of them.
Dan Markowitz · October 21, 2017 at 6:06 pm
Forget Mirka, how about Sock’s nosedive since Miami this year. Up till then he’d won two events and reached semis and quarters, respectively at Indy Wells and Miami. Since then, he lost to Jordan Thompson in Davis Cup competition and then has won a total of 13 matches in 13 events! And get this, he’s still ranked no. 21 in the world.
Sock just lost to Fognini in Stockholm this week. What an absolute nosedive. It’s incredible. His best wins since beating Dimitrov and Nishikori in Indy Wells were beating Schwartzman, when he was no 39 and Raonic, when he was about to leave the tour with injury. Sock might drop out of the top 40 next year if he keeps playing such uninspired tennis.
Scoop Malinowski · October 21, 2017 at 7:03 pm
No one ever accused Jelena Ristic Djokovic of distracting, heckling or whistling at an opponent. Now two players have accused Mirka. That’s no conspiracy. That’s a pattern.
Scoop Malinowski · October 21, 2017 at 7:09 pm
Well, it’s not like Federer has needed a lot of help from his box for his career. He’s won more majors than anyone in history. I think it’s possible Nick added the “just kidding” as a punctuation point to take the edge off the jab. A sort of passive aggressive attack on the king and queen. I see no reason why Nick would fabricate the imagery of Mirka heckling and whistling to distract him, it has to be true. Remember, the first time Nick played Fed he beat him in Madrid and Fed sarcastically complained after losing the first set about Nick’s antics and shenanigans, “All we need is clown for this circus.” So Mirka has apparently been adding her two cents into the circus.
Scoop Malinowski · October 21, 2017 at 7:15 pm
I think those two straight set losses to Nadal this year really deflated Sock’s confidence. He was playing his best ball and he thought he was ready to take the next step after he showed he could beat Nishikori and Dimitrov in IW but Rafa slammed him to the ground and Sock hasn’t recovered. I think Sock has a new girlfriend and he’s in love so maybe his priorities have changed also.
Scoop Malinowski · October 21, 2017 at 7:21 pm
Well guess what? The team Spadea and Lickle lost to in Las Vegas is in the finals (Novikov and Hach Verdugo) vs Brydan Klein and Joe Salisbury. And the final in singles is Kozlov vs Broady. A lot of Tennis-prose.com favorites in action tomorrow in Vegas.
catherine · October 22, 2017 at 2:45 am
Just to add a fashion point to this thread – the lineup in Singapore looks a lot more sensible and, shall we say, tasteful, than the tacky show last year. Could the WTA be prioritising talent over glamour ? Or did the players complain ? I think we should be told 🙂
Hartt · October 22, 2017 at 9:13 am
The match where Stan got upset with Mirka was when she yelled at him that he is a crybaby. She should not have said that during a match, but it is true – Stan does whine a lot.
catherine · October 22, 2017 at 9:23 am
Oh and Simona and Garbine were wearing the exact same dresses. Black. I think that is really really important.
Hartt · October 22, 2017 at 9:27 am
And, back to current tennis. Lots going on in Singapore. I did not see the match, but Ka. Pliskova had an easy win over Venus. I did see the Muguruza vs Ostapenko match. Ostapenko was, as she so often is, very inconsistent. Great winners one minute and UFEs the next. Garbine served well, with a fist serve % of about 75% through much of the match. Generally, she was steady, but did show nerves when she was serving for the match the first time, and was broken. Fortunately, she succeeded in her next service game.
The big hitters are in one group and the defensive players are in the other. So it will be interesting to see how this unfolds.
Hartt · October 22, 2017 at 9:33 am
Catherine, on my other site we had some discussion about how the women looked in those pics. We agreed that Garcia looked especially nice, with a becoming dress and a “real” as opposed to a fake, smile in the selfie pic. We also agreed that Ostapenko’s dress was awful. I had meant to say there that Simona should forget about black, it is actually a difficult colour to wear and she looks totally washed out in it. So, even though I get frustrated with the WTA’s obsession with the players’ looks, sometimes we can have fun with it. 🙂
catherine · October 22, 2017 at 10:21 am
Hartt – shame Andrew isn’t here – he’d be pleased to see the WTA seem to have abandoned the lipstick promotions which featured last year, among other fashion misfortunes. And those 12″ heels seem to have gone.
I thought Simona looked ok – black probably strikes her as elegant. Actually I think white suits her best. She always looks good at Wimbledon. The real thing is how she and Garbine are wearing the same – do they both think this sets them apart as the only true No 1s ?
And of course I look forward to having a similar conversation at the ATP finals 🙂
Actually, I don’t take the Tour Finals that seriously – round-robins are pretty meaningless, although I know why they are there,but I suppose it’s entertainment at the year’s end.
Pliskova was pretty ruthless, Muguruza held her nerve,
early days though.
Hartt · October 22, 2017 at 10:27 am
Actually, Simona’s and Garbine’s dresses are a bit different. Garbine’s is a very dark navy, with black in the inverted pleats.
I am enjoying Singapore, with so many good players there should be some close matches.
When it comes to fashion the men are so boring! At their finals they simply all wear the same thing!
catherine · October 22, 2017 at 10:33 am
A closer look at Garbine’s dress from a different angle reveal that the skirt isn’t black – seems to be blue. Trick of the light. Dark anyway. A vital piece of information 🙂
Garcia/Halep is the match I want to see.
catherine · October 22, 2017 at 10:39 am
I agree the matches can be good but I’m old fashioned and I like a nice GS trophy at the end. That’s what you’re remembered for.
The men should introduce some sartorial changes then we can criticise them.
Hartt · October 22, 2017 at 11:09 am
I just watched Delpo have a pretty easy win over Dimitrov, 6-2 in the 2nd set. He was the defending champion and this is Delpo’s 20th title. Looks like he is truly back!
Scoop Malinowski · October 22, 2017 at 11:17 am
Hartt; Do you think Mirka should be allowed to distract Stan and call him a crybaby? She should sit there and let the action happen, not get involved. I know a person at my club who sat next to Djokovic’s father when Novak was a very young pro and he said his behavior was terrible and astoundingly bad. So passions do arise with player family members.
Hartt · October 22, 2017 at 12:28 pm
As people here have said, lots of eyes are on Mirka during matches and there have not been complaints. She is human, and got carried away in that one instance. No, she should not have said that during a match, and Fed had to smooth things over with Stan. But there is no evidence whatsoever that this has been a pattern with her.
catherine · October 22, 2017 at 12:45 pm
This incident happened nearly 3 years ago. Why on earth are we discussing it now ? Mirka’s done nothing like that since and I imagine the whole thing was sorted out between the three of them shortly afterwards.
Time, surely, to let it drop.
Chazz · October 22, 2017 at 1:30 pm
Dan/Scoop, I made sure I watched that Sock-Fognini match because I figured it would be a masters course in gamesmanship. It didn’t disappoint, though what an enigma – there was so much talking and complaining to the chair umpire and people in the crowd, I wasn’t sure what was going on half the time. Lots of racquet chucking by Fognini. And a conveniently timed injury timeout by Sock when he lost momentum.
As for the tennis, I actually was thinking during most of the match that Jack was finally elevating his game back to where he was. He had Fabio on his heels for a large part of it. At the end, Sock had two match points at 5-4 in the 3rd and lost them both, then gave up, I mean completely tanked his service game and Fognini’s service game to lose 7-5. It was really a shame because he could have won the match.
And of course, Sock pulled a Donald Young and didn’t shake the chair umpire’s hand after the match.
Scoop Malinowski · October 22, 2017 at 5:31 pm
Catherine; Kyrgios alleged the same thing of Mirka last week taking questions from tennis fans.
Hartt · October 22, 2017 at 6:37 pm
Scoop, I believe Kyrgios when he said he was kidding. It was hardly an allegation. I read a lot of that Q and A on twitter – the tone was light. And this way he did not really answer the question about playing Federer.
Dan Markowitz · October 22, 2017 at 8:25 pm
Chazz,
Thanks for the report on the Sock v Fognini match. Pretty shocking to hear that Sock had two MP’s on Fognini’s serve and when he missed out on those chances he tanked his service game.
What is it about Sock who seems like such a likable guy and normal guy that he seems to run afoul of a lot of umpires? I think with Sock there’s a feeling that he’s better than he really is. McEnroe picked up on this at Laver’s Cup when he demanded that Sock play with more urgency. I think when Sock feels he’s above his opponent, like he probably did with Fognini, when he doesn’t KO him right away, he almost tanks the match as of way of saying, “I’m too good to be struggling to win a match against this guy.”
Doesn’t seem it’s been a good career ethos for the most part though, so far for Jack.
Chazz · October 22, 2017 at 9:04 pm
Dan, Sock’s way of tanking in those last two games was to not even move in the direction of a few shots that he normally could get to.
He should be able to get up for a fierce opponent like Fognini, so I’m not sure he feels he’s above someone like that. I think his confidence is just really low because of how his last 6 months have gone and he was deflated after missing those chances at 5-4 in the 3rd.
One thing I like about watching a Sock match is that he still flashes elite athleticism and wins a few points per match that make you wonder how he did that. The problem is you rarely see him play a really solid match all the way through.
It was great to see del Potro and Dimitrov in the final, two great ambassadors for the sport that are easy to root for.
catherine · October 23, 2017 at 2:37 am
Scoop-
I agree with Hartt.
Scoop Malinowski · October 23, 2017 at 8:42 am
Hartt; I believe there was an element of truth in Nick’s clever humorous jab. As we know all humor is based on truth. I don’t think he would fabricate this up from left field because Wawrinka revealed Mirka has a tendency to get over-involved. Lets’s wait and see how it plays out…
Scoop Malinowski · October 23, 2017 at 8:58 am
Chazz, Nice analysis of Sock vs Fog, two of the more mysterious and intriguing characters in tennis. And of course they delivered a classic show. Sock seems bent on turning himself into one of those enigmatic stars like his good buddy Kyrgios. Supreme talents who are extra sensitive and could go off the rails at the slightest annoyance or perceived annoyance. Chair umpires are always easy targets and can be utilized as characters in the drama show (match). I find it interesting that Sock is now using injury timeouts to stall a match, he had shown a severe displeasure in the past when other players did it to him like Monaco in the Houston final. Sock and Kyrgios are super talents but they also have a diva side to their champion qualities. The diamond has many faces and so too do Sock, Fognini and Kyrgios.
Scoop Malinowski · October 23, 2017 at 9:03 am
Chazz; I see a touch of Rios in Sock. Rios and Sock like to show a lazy, casual attitude. But that just doesn’t work to be a major champion in the ATP. You have to be a raging bulldog like Nadal Hewitt Federer Stan even Cilic. Maybe deep down Sock doesn’t really believe he can do it in singles, he has learned through first hand experience that those serial career killers at the top echelon of the ATP are just not going to surrender an inch, a centimeter or even a millimeter.
Joe Blow · October 23, 2017 at 9:23 am
They are all Diva’s!
No on has said “ no” to them since they were probably 12 years old. Their parents, coaches, agents, endorsers..
Happens in every sport, once they can see how great you are, or how great you’re going to be, you are the commodity.
Some people handle it with class, some turn into divas.
catherine · October 23, 2017 at 10:43 am
Singapore: Wozniaki blows away Svitolina 6-2 6-0 – looks like a tank to me 🙂
Chazz · October 23, 2017 at 11:20 am
I think that might be true, Scoop. Sock isn’t the most fit, he could probably use a little improvement in that area, but the mental gap seems pretty big right now between the top 10 players and him. I recall a lot of us on here saying he needed a new coach after his downturn started with Hahn. Well, it has gotten much worse with Berger. I used to think he would eventually make deep runs in Slams and Masters tourneys. Now I’m not sure he will ever be able to get there. Regardless, he will always be a better doubles player.
Scoop Malinowski · October 23, 2017 at 11:29 am
There are levels of diva-ness. I was told by a coach that one of the top 100 Americans was annoyed by car service at Queens years ago, that the car was not ready and it would not be ready for 30 minutes. David Ferrer was 4 in the world at this time and he was also waiting but made absolutely no fuss about having to wait. Anotehr diva story? A former ATP no. 1 from Russia crashed not one but two Mercedes Benz sponsored cars for players during the same week. This player actually tried to get his hands on a third comp Mercedes Benz that week. When he was politely declined, the player then shouted at the woman, “Well you can suck my d***.” The woman later became the wife of Mal Washington. BTW Kozlov beat Broady yesterday in Vegas 46 75 64. That’s a huge win for Kozlov, as Broady has been highly touted lately for his very good results. I believe Dan declared lefty Broady to be a top 50 player in the making. Taylor Fritz is top seed in Vietnam where Swiss teen Jakub Paul qualified into the main draw with two easy wins.
Dan Markowitz · October 23, 2017 at 11:39 am
Divas, yes maybe, but also you don’t get to be a top pro tennis player without putting in a lot of hard work and grind. So I’d be careful characterizing these guys or women as divas. They’re pretty tough in a lot of categories.
Great win for The Koz. I like Broady, but Koz is showing some thick backbone.
Just watched Gulbis lose to Simon in Vienna. Gulbis’ game against a solid pro like Simon is just lacking. The guy just can’t seem to solve his FH woes.
Scoop Malinowski · October 23, 2017 at 12:14 pm
No doubt all of these players and even any player with an ATP point is a warrior and a super talent because we know how difficult it is to win any match anywhere, especially a pro match with ATP points and $ on the line. But a lot of players do become soft in some ways, spoiled coddled and protected. As great players, doors open and they rarely have to pay for dinner or anything. Some get spoiled. I remember being told Gimelstob forget to bring socks before a US Open match, one of the locker room attendants went and got him new socks and Gimelstob didn’t even say THANK YOU. That’s diva excess. It happens to a lot of players. But it sure didn’t happen to Thomas Muster…
Q. Despite your excellent achievements this year, you still have, rightly or wrongly, among some of your rivals, gotten a reputation of being a very difficult opponent to play for temperamental as well as expert tennis reasons. Boris has said it. Forget has said it. Why do you think you got the reputation of being too big for your boots?
THOMAS MUSTER: I don’t want to be a nice guy. I don’t want to slip my game to others. I don’t want to be nice to players — it would be nice to play against; lose against everybody. I would be a nice opponent, but then probably would be worthless to win against me so I rather be a tough cookie than — you have to realize that tennis is not played only by shots. It is played by mind. So…..
Q. Do you personally feel that you go a bit close to the edge of gamesmenship or —
THOMAS MUSTER: I have got three warnings all my life, I will tell you, so if you compare it to other players in the world, I am probably one of the fairest players ever by warnings, by fines, whatever. You can go make a research by that, so it means I am playing within the rules, absolutely within the rules, so…
Q. How do you get yourself in that aggressive mood for a match?
THOMAS MUSTER: I don’t need to put my opponent in the mirror in the evening. I mean, for me, it is my job. It is my work. We play for points, we play for money. We play for everything, so it is — we play for prestige. We play for numbers. That is it. That is — and tennis world is what you achieve and tennis and the numbers they make you a good person or a bad person or a good player or a bad player. That is the way it is.
Q. How do you do that in a third round?
THOMAS MUSTER: I am just saying if you are playing well and you are rich, you are nice looking person. If you don’t play good and you have nothing, you can, you can (Inaudible.), that is the whole thing and I am not saying because you are playing good tennis you are a better person. That is one thing, but people outside the court, they do it.
Q. You play for money, for prestige, for what?
THOMAS MUSTER: I play because it is my job. Whenever I finish playing tennis, I can ask myself if I possibly did everything to be as good as possible. And if I can answer that with a yes, I could be happy for whatever is coming afterwards. If I have to answer that with a no, I always have to ask myself all my life why I didn’t try harder or why I didn’t not do this or that. That is what I am playing for. I have to be as good as possible and to use all my possibilities I have. If I don’t do that, I have to answer no and then it would be bad.
Hartt · October 23, 2017 at 1:32 pm
The Gimelstop story reminds me of how Edberg would leave a bag of equipment for the locker room attendant at the end of a tourney. Now there was a superstar who will never be accused of diva behaviour.
Scoop Malinowski · October 23, 2017 at 1:57 pm
Yes. Stefan Edberg was always very well liked and nice to everyone. I remember he did a spontaneous biofile one day when I approached him in the locker room at the US Open in about 1995 when he was still high in the rankings. He was the first big player to do a Biofile with me and I was very grateful and thrilled. It was not set up via USTA or anyone, I just went up to him at the US Open locker room and he said okay and did it. Big moment for me.
Dan Markowitz · October 23, 2017 at 2:48 pm
Maybe Edberg was nice, but a friend of mine, tells a story how Edberg at 18 came over his house with another friend of my friend’s, and the guy didn’t talk for the whole afternoon. Either shy or very aloof. Also, Gimelstob is an example of very wealthy guy who’s always had a silver spoon up his nose/mouth where have you? I’m not saying Gimel couldn’t be a good guy–I never had a player call me back up when I left a message for him–as quickly and as often as Gimel did–but Gimel is spoiled and righteous.
Chazz · October 23, 2017 at 3:00 pm
Where is Tommy Paul? He has had no activity since the US Open. Weird.
Hartt · October 23, 2017 at 3:57 pm
I am one happy Canuck. Denis Shapovalov won a close, entertaining match with Sugita that went to a third set TB. Sugita played well and Denis had to raise his level to get the win.
Also, 2 of my other faves won today – Kohlschreiber over Isner and Sascha over Troicki. All 3 are on my treats list, so this is a very good start! 🙂
Duke Carnoustie · October 23, 2017 at 6:11 pm
My favorite companions were Marat Safin’s women in the box. Those were the days.
Also remember when Novak had Sean Puffy Combs and Sharapova cheering him on? That was a weird combo.
Duke Carnoustie · October 23, 2017 at 6:19 pm
Correct that Sock and Kyrgios are divas who think they are “too cool” to do enough grinding to become champions. They are the life of the party but when the money is on the table they are nowhere to be found. Sock is going great with his new gf and Nick with Alja but that has nothing to do with on the court.
Scoop good point on Ferrer. The Spanish guys seem to deal with situations better – Rafa is the consummate at never letting things rattle you. Tennis at this level is very mental and the Socks and Kyrgios of the world are mental midgets.
Quietly John Isner really is the best competitor of this group and shows the most fight. I hate this group of U.S.. players – Harrison, Sock, Young even Querrey. Querrey could have made it to London but couldn’t grind out results in Asia.
My hope is the Tiafoe, Fritzs and Donaldsons don’t emulate the generation before. Tiafoe has another showdown with Fed – on Fed’s home turf Tuesday. Expect Mirka to try her tricks and rattle the teenager!
jg · October 23, 2017 at 6:25 pm
Isner just cannot beat Kohlschreiber ( 2 fairly recent losses at USO), you would think the high kicking serve to the one handed backhand could be easily followed up with a volley, that’s a terrible loss on an indoor court no less.
Scoop Malinowski · October 23, 2017 at 8:12 pm
Isner has said he does not like fast indoor courts, he prefers slower courts. I remember he said this to us in Portland for the Davis Cup final weekend 2007 vs Russia. Fast courts take away his time. Though he did make the finals of Paris indoors last year or the year before and lost to Murray.
Scoop Malinowski · October 23, 2017 at 8:14 pm
Duke, Can’t agree that they are mental midgets because they both are around 25 in the world which is excellent. But they are not mental giants, at least not yet. Remember Wawrinka turned his career around with experience, so too can Nick and Sock.
catherine · October 24, 2017 at 3:26 am
BTW – entry for the ‘runners-up’ tournament in Zuhai next week looks rather more interesting than what’s going on in Singapore.
Tomic serves underarm – isn’t that illegal ? He lost of course.
dan markowitz · October 24, 2017 at 3:36 am
Catherine,
Do you not remember Michael Chang serving underhanded to Lendl in the French Open Semis of 1988 I believe it was? Serving underhanded might show lack of confidence in a serve or it might show an “I don’t care” attitude, but it’s certainly not illegal.
I was watching Tomic’s match with Herbert and he looked like he was trying, at least in the first set, when he lost in a breaker. Weird that the Vienna tournament doesn’t have a Hawkeye system. Almost feels like that is illegal in today’s modern tennis world.
catherine · October 24, 2017 at 3:52 am
Dan – I don’t remember Chang incident – I never covered the French myself. Maybe it was lack of confidence in Chang’s case because I can’t picture Michael not caring.
(As for legality, I’ve probably got confused with cricket, where bowling underarm used to be permitted but now isn’t.)
Oz press are really dumping on Tomic – but of course the same people built him up years ago and feel let down which is a bit silly.