"Like Holger Rune calling himself part of a new Big 3" - Fans slam Nick Kyrgios for including his name among greats like Federer, Nadal, Djokovic

Nick Kyrgios has come under fire from tennis fans after including his name among Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and other tennis greats. The Australian's inclusion of his own name stemmed from a discussion surrounding Taylor Fritz's cheeky swipe at Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech at the ongoing 2024 Wimbledon Championships.

Fritz came out on top against Rinderknech in the pair's second-round encounter on Thursday, July 4. However, immediately after the match's conclusion, as the two came together at the net to shake hands with the each other, Fritz sarcastically told Rinderknech to "have a nice flight home".

The World No. 5's sarcasm came in the aftermath of the Frenchman talking about how Fritz cried and whined after facing taunts from fans who attended the pair's 2023 French Open second-round clash. On that eventful night, Fritz ousted the home hope from the claycourt Major and then proceeded to 'shush' them, which only made the crowd's booing towards him louder.

"He [Taylor Fritz] won’t cry as much. He whined a bit saying it was too noisy. I hold no grudge against him but he was wrong if he thought the crowd would send him kisses in between points," Rinderknech said ahead of the pair's Wimbledon 2024 rematch.

Kyrgios backed Fritz's "cheeky" rebuttal via a post on X (formerly Twitter).

"This is what the sport needs, cheeky," Kyrgios wrote.

A fan later told the Australian that while Fritz's behavior may be entertaining, tennis does not need it. The 2022 Wimbledon finalist disagreed with the fan and stated that the sport is not in its most successful state right now. When the fan asked when tennis' most successful period was, Kyrgios wrote in response:

"Maybe when you had prime Federer, Nadal, Murray, Nole (Novak Djokovic), Nishikori, Cilic, Del Potro, Berdych, Monfils, Dimitrov, Tsonga…. Kyrgios"

This assessment from Kyrgios did not go down well with fans, with some of them blatantly criticizing the Australian. According to these fans, the 2022 Wimbledon finalist has achieved very little compared to what the others have.

"Did you include yourself in the conversation? You have the fewest titles out of those on the list, also the worst demeanour. This is like Rune calling himself part of a new big three," wrote a fan, referring to Holger Rune recently expressing his excitement over being a part of the next Big Three alongside Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.

"You had to add your name. You’ve done nothing!!!!!!" another fan commented.

"Prime Kygrios : 0 Masters 1000, 0 Slam, no week in the top 10 , pleaded guilty to pushing his ex to the ground," another fan chimed in.

"Kyrgios has managed to sneak himself in a list of players who won slams/masters/Olympic medals/tour finals or made slam finals by actually winning the semi-final," yet another fan commented.

There were others who used humor to target the Australian.

"Tried to sneak himself in there lmfao," a fan wrote.

"Have we even had prime Kyrgios yet?" a Bloomberg writer asked.

Yet another fan posted an image of a clown amid a military operation surrounded by soldiers, suggesting that Nick Kyrgios was the clown.

Nick Kyrgios looked back on defeating Federer, Nadal and Djokovic earlier this year

Nick Kyrgios

Nick Kyrgios may not have had the kind of success that he perhaps should have had considering his immense talent. However, the Australian is one of the very few players to have defeated all three of the famed Big Three; Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic. Earlier this year, he reflected on his wins against the legends during an episode of the Good Trouble with Nick Kyrgios video podcast series.

"I don't think Federer, Nadal or Djokovic ever thought they'd lose to me. I think they look back and they're like, "How the hell did we manage to lose to him?", Nick Kyrgios said.

The Australian is currently at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships as a commentator and analyst for the BBC, and recently practiced with Djokovic as he continues to work his way back to the tennis court.