After another confrontation with an umpire, Nick Kyrgios voiced his frustration at perceived double standards as the French Open got underway in Paris.
The Australian ranted several times at Carlos Ramos after being given a code violation during the first set of his 7-6 (8/6) 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 victory over Marco Cecchinato in the first round at Roland Garros.
Kyrgios accused Ramos of "unbelievable bias" in reference to an incident in Rome earlier this month when Novak Djokovic pushed away Carlos Bernardes's arm in a dispute over a line call but was not given a warning.
“I think we all know in this room if that was me that did that, it would be an absolute circus,” said Kyrgios at his press conference. “But if he did it, nothing really happened of it. It speaks for itself.”
The warning came during the first-set tie-break after Ramos decided Kyrgios was overly aggressive in requesting his towel from a ball boy.
The 17th seed said: “Every time I get a towel from a ball kid I say thank you. Sometimes when you’re a bit frustrated you do, not scream at them, but you do get a little mad at them.
“For me, that time I didn’t get mad at all. I just said it a little bit loud. The crowd was going on. And if we’re going to play by the rules, you have 20 seconds in between points, so I’m not going to wait for the crowd to quieten down to get my towel. I just felt like it was a bit rough.”
Kyrgios quickly put the incident behind him to win the opening set and then saved two set points in the second in heavy, damp conditions.
Not long after Kyrgios finished, tournament officials finally decided the rain was too heavy to carry on.
Nineteenth seed Benoit Paire also beat the weather, battling past qualifier Radu Albot 6-2 4-6 6-4 1-6 6-4.
Defending champion Stan Wawrinka finally arrived at Roland Garros after winning his first title on home soil at the Geneva Open on Saturday.
Wawrinka, who stunned Djokovic in the final here 12 months ago, is confident it will prove a positive rather than a negative for his hopes.
He said: “I’m happy to have won yesterday. It was an important tournament for me. I took some big confidence by winning the trophy there and arriving here.
“For sure, it’s late arriving for a grand slam, especially if you want to go far in a grand slam, but I think I’m feeling good. I’m feeling fit. My tennis is there, and I’m ready to play my first match tomorrow.”
Wawrinka takes on Lukas Rosol, who he beat in the semi-finals in Geneva, on Monday.
