Nick Kyrgios demands tennis umpire is fired after huge controversy at Estoril Open | Tennis | Sport

Nick Kyrgios has added more fuel to the fire over Cristian Garin’s controversial quarter-final win at the Estoril Open by calling for the umpire involved to be fired. The Chilean beat home favourite Nuno Borges 6-2 7-6(7-3) in Portugal, but the clash was overshadowed by crowd anger after Garin was awarded a point in highly dubious circumstances.

After a spectator appeared to shout ‘out’ as Borges prepared to return a deep shot from the baseline from Garin, the latter rashly hammered a forehand wide of the court. He then furiously remonstrated with the umpire and thought it was the official that made the call. And then bizarrely the umpire opted to award the point to the 27-year-old as opposed to standing firm or even ordering it to be replayed.

It made for a volatile atmosphere in the arena, and Garin’s victory was greeted with resounding jeers that were aimed at both player and umpire. It didn’t take long for Kyrgios to weigh-in on the debate, labelling the incident “cheating” on social media.

And the 28-year-old went one step further, calling for sanctions against the official involved. On X he said: “This umpire should be fired and never be able to take place in another match. Disgrace.”

He wasn’t done there, proceeding to argue with tennis fans online and question why the sport wasn’t embracing technology in order to prevent such mishaps. “How come tennis is one of the only sports that is unable to replay moments like this?” he asked.

“And instead have someone that makes horrible decisions like this one that costs players hundreds of thousands of dollars? The whole thing should be AI controlled.”

Kyrgios was also defiant when the issue of his own previous behaviour was raised. The 2022 Wimbledon finalist has frequently found himself in hot water, and questioned why players were liable to financial penalties when umpires were permitted to make mistakes.

“That should be the consequence no?” he said, referring to a potential fine. “At least? Don’t think his pay check got taken away.”

Garin now faces No.2 seed Hubert Hurkacz in the semi-final today. And he’s guaranteed to receive a hostile reception from home fans, having been taunted as he returned to the dressing room after his win on Friday.