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Chair umpire gives Kyrgios a lesson on the foot fault rule

Rishabh Gupta
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Nick Kyrgios played his second round of Wimbledon against Robin Haase of The Netherlands.

Nick Kyrgios may have started his Wimbledon 2018 campaign with a fighting four-set win over Denis Istomin, but he came back strongly in the second round. The Australian tennis star beat Robin Haase 6-3 6-3 7-5 in straight sets to secure his place in the second round.

However, Kyrgios’ on-the-field antics make quite a name for himself, and in the second round too, he didn’t fail to entertain the audience. Kyrgios’ body language was rather serious during the match, but in a lighter moment, the chair umpire, James Keothavong, had to explain Kyrgios about the rules of tennis.

It was during Kyrigos’ service game, when he was called out for foot-fault. Outraged, Kyrgios said to the umpire, “What, after I hit it? How’s that possible?”

Keothavong, in turn, replied, “That’s what he has to do. He can’t call it before you hit it.”

Here is the video of the incident:

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The chair umpire’s reply brought about a huge roar of laughter from the audience, and even brought a smile on Kyrgios’ face. Later during the set, Keothavong got down from the chair to demonstrate the rule to the Aussie.

After the match, however, Kyrgios insisted that he had no problem whatsoever with the rule. “He told me at any point if your foot crosses the line, it’s a foot fault. I mean, I just got too close to the T,” said Kyrgios.

The Australian star will now face Japan’s Kei Nishikori in the third round of Wimbledon.

About the author

Rishabh Gupta

Rishabh Gupta

A sports enthusiast. Sports, I believe, is one of the few powers which help us grow, both as an individual and society. With each day, in the rich world of sports, I grow.

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