NICK KYRGIOS called himself one of the “most important players in tennis” and demanded respect after storming into the third round of Wimbledon.
The Aussie hot-head, 27, thumped Filip Krajinovic 6-2 6-3 6-1 in a clinical display on Thursday to set up a date with Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Kyrgios reminded fans just how talented he is at SW19 and quickly demanded respect as he called himself one of the “most important players in tennis”.
During his post-match press conference, Kyrgios – who spat towards a fan after his first-round win over Brit Paul Jubb – said: “Some people love to just tear me down. It’s just not possible anymore.
“I know what I bring to the sport. I’m one of the most important people in the sport.
“Do you want to speak about that? Nothing to investigate there because it’s just factual.
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“I’m extremely confident in myself. All the challenges I’ve overcome in my life.
“I’m proud to be up here and doing it my own way.
“Being able to produce tennis like that at Wimbledon, it’s a dream come true for any tennis player.”
On his performance, Kyrgios continued: “I didn’t want to remind people that I’m good; I know that I’m good.
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“I just feel like people just don’t give me the respect sometimes because of other things that I do.
“There was just nothing the media possibly could tell me I did wrong today.
“I just know that you can’t possibly ask me anything and stir anything up. And I love it because then you can’t write anything.
“What are you going to say? Nothing today. Dumbfounded all of you.
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“Today from the get-go, I just felt really good. From the back of the court I felt like I really returned well. I was just very just locked in.
“I just wanted to just prove to people that I’m really good. I feel like I just don’t have the respect sometimes, you know?”
