"Nick Kyrgios is an absolute k***; his maturity is at the level of a 10-year-old" - Michael Venus

Nick Kyrgios has always been an entertainer on the tennis court and his antics invite just as much awe from fans as criticism from his detractors. Doubles star Michael Venus has put himself squarely in the latter group, calling Kyrgios an "absolute k***" with the mentality of a 10-year-old child.

Venus and his partner Tim Pütz faced the doubles pairing of Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Australian Open on Tuesday. Despite being the more experienced duo, the sixth seeds lost 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 in a wildly entertaining match.

Speaking to New Zealand's 1News after the match, the 34-year-old was not impressed by the mercurial Australian's on-court antics. Venus pointed to Kyrgios' lack of maturity as the reason he has never reached the heights he could have and "probably never will."

"On the maturity side, you see why Nick Kyrgios has never fulfilled his potential and probably never will. His maturity level, I am being generous [to say this], but it is at about the level of about a 10-year-old," Venus said. "At the end of the day he’s an absolute k***."

Venus compared the atmosphere during the match to a circus. He described how the crowd yelled obscenties at him and Pütz when they were serving in order to throw them off their game.

He also blamed Kokkinakis and Kyrgios for riling up the home crowd to their advantage. The Kiwi was of the opinion that if the situation had been reversed, Kyrgios would have "flipped his lid."

"It felt like a circus out there, and not really a tennis match. Between serves, [Kyrgios and Kokkinakis were] geeing the crowd up and getting them to cheer at times like that," Venus said. "Anytime you were going back to get the balls to serve, people were making comments about yourself and your family. I don’t think that’s really on. You know, if it’s on the other foot, old mate [Kyrgios] would have flipped his lid."

Venus also spoke about the moment Kyrgios accidentally hit a kid in the crowd with a wayward shot. Kyrgios later gifted the child a racquet as his way of apologizing but the Kiwi did not think that should have been enough to get him off the hook.

The 2017 Roland Garros doubles champion further revealed that he received a number of messages after the match from fans who were embarrassed at the way he and his partner were treated by the crowd.

"Nick already did get mad there by himself. It’s amazing, he can smash a ball out that hits a kid and just because he gives them a racquet afterwards people can say he is such a good guy," Venus said. " I got a lot of messages from people saying how embarrassed they were with the crowd’s behavior and that they’re sorry, it shouldn’t have been like that."

Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis face third seeds Zeballos and Granollers in the semifinals of 2022 Australian Open

Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis are two matches away from their first Grand Slam title

The unseeded duo of Kyrgios and Kokkinakis will lock horns with Horacio Zeballos and Marcel Granollers in the semifinals of the 2022 Australian Open.

The third-seeded pair finished runners-up at Wimbledon in 2021 and, much like their semifinal opponents, are looking to win their first Major. Kyrgios and Kokkinakis have already knocked out three seeded pairs during their incredible run at Melbourne Park and will be eager to cause another upset.