Tennis-At the US Open, player-commentators become part of the story
By Amy Tennery
NEW YORK, Sept 4 (Reuters) -Nick Kyrgios and Chris Eubanks are making headlines with the microphone instead of the racket at Flushing Meadows this year, as the player-commentators find themselves in the spotlight at the U.S. Open.
Kyrgios, a quarter-finalist in 2002, is providing commentary by the court for ESPN and trading barbs with critics on social media. The Australian has not been shy to express an opinion.
"I'm always going to be outspoken," said Kyrgios, who has struggled with injury in recent years and has only played one tour match since the Japan Open in October 2022.
"At the same time it's hard to kind of disagree with what I'm saying most of the time because I've played these guys before - I've beaten all the GOATs (Greatest Of All Time) of the game."
Kyrgios, who said in December he believes he has only a couple more years of playing left in him, has not been afraid to dive into controversy, even when it put him at odds with his ESPN colleagues.
He offered to coach Coco Gauff following her fourth-round exit, after a blogger suggested her coach Brad Gilbert, an on-air commentator for ESPN, be shown the door.
And the Australian Open doubles winner said he would welcome a chance to interview Italian Jannik Sinner after the top seed found himself in the middle of a doping furore days before the tournament began.
Sinner was cleared of wrongdoing despite failing two drug tests this year and he escaped a ban, with Kyrgios among the leading voices say the outcome amounted to double standards.
"Ridiculous - whether it was accidental or planned," he wrote on social media ahead of the tournament. "You get tested twice with a banned (steroid) substance... you should be gone for two years."
Asked about Kyrios' remarks - and the possibility of running into the Australian in New York - Sinner said: "Everyone is free to say everything."
When asked on Tuesday who he would most like to speak with in New York, Kyrgios told a group of reporters: "Jannik Sinner, with everything going on, I think we would have an interesting chat."
Sinner plays his semi-final against Russian Daniil Medvedev on Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday.
After going out in the first round at Flushing Meadows last week, American Eubanks had a quick change from tennis shoes to suit-and-tie and jumped into his broadcast role.
A moment with longtime friend Coco Gauff went viral as the defending champion struggled to suppress the giggles at the practice courts earlier in the tournament.
"It's weird being interviewed by you," Gauff said to her Olympic team mate.
For Eubanks, "weird" might be as controversial as it gets as he knows he may soon run into his interview subjects in the locker room again.
"I want the players to not mind when they see me," said Eubanks, who enjoyed a dream run to the Wimbledon quarter-finals last year.
"I've got to see these guys 40 other weeks out the year. They can't be like, 'Oh, here goes the media guy.'"
Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Peter Rutherford
면책조항: XM Group 회사는 체결 전용 서비스와 온라인 거래 플랫폼에 대한 접근을 제공하여, 개인이 웹사이트에서 또는 웹사이트를 통해 이용 가능한 콘텐츠를 보거나 사용할 수 있도록 허용합니다. 이에 대해 변경하거나 확장할 의도는 없습니다. 이러한 접근 및 사용에는 다음 사항이 항상 적용됩니다: (i) 이용 약관, (ii) 위험 경고, (iii) 완전 면책조항. 따라서, 이러한 콘텐츠는 일반적인 정보에 불과합니다. 특히, 온라인 거래 플랫폼의 콘텐츠는 금융 시장에서의 거래에 대한 권유나 제안이 아닙니다. 금융 시장에서의 거래는 자본에 상당한 위험을 수반합니다.
온라인 거래 플랫폼에 공개된 모든 자료는 교육/정보 목적으로만 제공되며, 금융, 투자세 또는 거래 조언 및 권고, 거래 가격 기록, 금융 상품 또는 원치 않는 금융 프로모션의 거래 제안 또는 권유를 포함하지 않으며, 포함해서도 안됩니다.
이 웹사이트에 포함된 모든 의견, 뉴스, 리서치, 분석, 가격, 기타 정보 또는 제3자 사이트에 대한 링크와 같이 XM이 준비하는 콘텐츠 뿐만 아니라, 제3자 콘텐츠는 일반 시장 논평으로서 "현재" 기준으로 제공되며, 투자 조언으로 여겨지지 않습니다. 모든 콘텐츠가 투자 리서치로 해석되는 경우, 투자 리서치의 독립성을 촉진하기 위해 고안된 법적 요건에 따라 콘텐츠가 의도되지 않았으며, 준비되지 않았다는 점을 인지하고 동의해야 합니다. 따라서, 관련 법률 및 규정에 따른 마케팅 커뮤니케이션이라고 간주됩니다. 여기에서 접근할 수 있는 앞서 언급한 정보에 대한 비독립 투자 리서치 및 위험 경고 알림을 읽고, 이해하시기 바랍니다.