AFP, New York :
With Eugenie Bouchard at his side, controversial Nick Kyrgios can have a fun time at the US Open and even laugh off a possible suspension hanging over his head.
The 20-year-old Aussie, who made infamous comments to rival Stan Wawrinka about his girlfriend being unfaithful during a match last month in Montreal, joined Canadian Bouchard in taking a 5-7, 6-3, 10-3 mixed doubles triumph over New Zealand’s Artem Sitak and Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina.
Kyrgios faces a suspension from the ATP Tour that will be waived if he is on best behavior for a month. And while Grand Slams are ITF events are not tour stops, Kyrgios teased Bouchard that he might just pick their match to bring down his suspension.
“He was getting frustrated with himself a little bit. He felt like he should have helped the team more, which I expected as well,” she said.
“I said, ‘Look, I’m tired. You have to do most of the work.’
“I think he was about to throw his racquet or say a bad word and get his suspension thing. He’s like, ‘I’m about to do it, I’m about to do it.’
“I’m like, ‘No, you’re not. Don’t do it. It’s not worth it.’ I don’t know, he would just miss another return or something.”
The bottom line is the duo had a lot of fun and laughter in a tension-packed time, especially given that Bouchard has reached the fourth round in singles and is also in women’s doubles.
“It was super fun,” she said. “He’s just really like a funny guy. That’s probably why I’m extra tired now because I was just laughing all the time.
“He has like constant conversations with people in the crowd. So I was just listening. It was just so funny. We told ourselves we were going to be so relaxed, just have fun. That’s all I wanted to do. Deep down we both really wanted to win, so we were like pretty pumped that we won.”
That booked a date against fourth seeds Leander Paes of India and Martina Hingis of Switzerland.
“We are motivated,” Bouchard said. “Obviously a great team. We’re just going to go for it and have fun again. You never know what happens.”
Bouchard hopes nothing bad happens to Kyrgios.
“I’ve known him since the junior days. Seen him around a lot,” she said. “He’s really nice. I just think he’s so funny and interesting and he’s good for the game. So I support him. He’s very nice and humble.”
