- A small boy in the crowd of the Australian Open endured a roller-coaster of emotions Tuesday.
- The fan was brought to tears when Aussie Nick Kyrgios hit him with a ball after a frustrated swipe.
- That sadness soon turned to delighted when Kyrgios gave him a racket as an apology.
Nick Kyrgios looked on in anguish after accidentally hitting a young fan hard in the stomach with a stray ball at the Australian Open before giving him his racket as an apology.
The incident happened in the first set as Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis beat New Zealand's Michael Venus and Germany's Tim Puetz in the quarterfinals of the men's doubles on Tuesday.
Following a let call from the chair umpire on a Kokkinakis serve in the fourth game, Kyrgios' smashed the ball into the ground in frustration.
Unfortunately, the ball was hit so hard it bounced into the stand and hit a young fan, leaving the boy in tears. Boos subsequently rang out from around the Show Court Arena.
Kyrgios winced after realizing what he'd done and promptly set out to make up for his error, trotting to his bag, grabbing a spare racket, and handing it up to the boy, whose tears promptly turned to a smile.
—#AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 25, 2022
Kyrgios and Kokkinakis went on to win the match 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 and book their place in the semifinals, where they will face third seeds Horacio Zeballos and Marcel Granollers on Thursday.
The Australian duo have enjoyed a remarkable run to the last four, including beating top seeds Mate Pavic and Nikola Mektic in straight sets in the second round.
Following their win over Pavic and Mektic, Kyrgios revealed that the Croats' coaches offered to fight him in the locker room after the match.
Pavic and Mektic were unhappy with the atmosphere at the Show Court Arena for their clash with home favorites with Pavic accusing the crowd of being disrespectful, while the pair also appeared to be displeased that Kyrgios had aimed several shots at their bodies while they were at the net during the match.
"Just letting you know after yesterday's chop fest in doubles my opponents coach and trainer proceeded to threaten to fight in the players gym," Kyrgios tweeted.
"Tennis is a soft soft sport," he added. "All because I moved and hit them with a tennis ball."
Kokkinakis later quoted the tweeting, saying: "That was crazy!! Mans thought it was UFC."
—Thanasi Kokkinakis (@TKokkinakis) January 21, 2022
Channel Nine posted footage of Kyrgios and Kokkinakis informing their team of the incident with retired tennis star Sam Groth revealing that Kokkinakis texted him during the altercation.
"Thanasi actually messaged me as it was happening," said Groth. "He said Nick got accosted in the locker room by Pavic's fitness trainer.
"Obviously they weren't very happy. They are the number one team in the world, the number one seeds. I guess going down to Thanasi and Nick, they didn't accept what was going on with the crowd, what was happening with Nick.
"I think it is a little bit soft to take it off the court and into the locker room. And not even the players, from someone from the team. It is not necessary."