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“Are you good at tennis”? 'No.' 'Exactly, so don't tell me how to play. Do I tell him how to act? No.'

INTERNATIONAL: 'Be quiet': Kyrgios hits out at fan behavior during Indian Wells defeat Nick Kyrgios had a typically direct message for his hecklers after his loss to Rafael Nadal at Indian Wells on Thursday: "Don't tell me how to play...just be quiet."

The 26-year-old Australian unraveled on a number of occasions as he fell to a 7-6(0) 5-7 6-4 defeat and was hit with a code violation for yelling an audible obscenity at the first set tiebreak when he was 6-0 down. Kyrgios maintained that the atmosphere of the match was "amazing" even as he repeatedly clashed with the crowd and chair umpire, and smashed his racket on two occasions.

But fans got more than what they bargained for, especially Meet the Parents and Zoolander star Ben Stiller who was roped into the drama while watching from the stands with wife Christine Taylor.

Kyrgios: 'Are you good at tennis?'

Heckler: 'No.'

Kyrgios: 'Exactly, so don't tell me how to play. [Pointing at Stiller and his wife who were sitting nearby] Do I tell him how to act? No.'

Kyrgios' most memorable outburst came when he singled out Stiller in the crowd while dealing with a heckler. The exchange went like this:

While that exchange was amusing, many of Kyrgio’s antics were straight out of his textbook on poor behavior at global tennis events.

"I just want people to know that you're a spectator. You've bought tickets to come to watch us play. At least don't scream out before first and second serve," Kyrgios said.

Kyrgios was infamously handed a suspended ban of 16 weeks and an additional fine of $25,000 in 2019 for 'aggravated behavior' after a meltdown in Cincinnati and a tirade at the governing body of the ATP who the Aussie firebrand labeled 'corrupt'.

It started in the first set, which was a gripping contest that went to a deciding tie break. Falling into a 0-6 hole, Kyrgios vented his spleen at the spectator in the crowd with an expletive that could be heard all the way back in Melbourne.

It left the chair umpire with no choice but to hand him a point penalty that meant he surrendered the set.

With the scores locked at 3-3 in the third and deciding set, one genius in the crowd decided to poke the bear and scream out while Kyrgios was serving, costing him the point and ultimately the match.

Kyrgios went into full meltdown, abusing the heckler and also chair umpire Carlos Bernardes.

'How long you going to let that s**t go on for?' Kyrgios raged.

'How long bro? How long?

'If you did something about it before now it wouldn't have happened. It happens again and again and again.

'Look at the f***ing score ... it's your job to control [heckling fans], no one else's.

'You're allowing it over and over and over again, say something.

''Well done bro, well done. Unbelievable job of controlling the crowd.'

To cap off the tirade Kyrgios asked Bernardes, 'Are you, like?' before pointing to his head and making a face to insinuate the chair umpire might be stupid.

Finally, when Kyrgios had lost the match, he shook hands with Nadal before smashing his racket into the court - forcing a ball boy to duck for cover.

'What would you like me to say about it? Obviously, was that my intention? No. Because I threw a racquet. Did I throw the racquet anywhere near him originally? It landed a meter from my foot and skidded and nearly hit him. I’m human. Things happen like that,' Kyrgios said in the post-match press conference.

"Obviously it was a very misfortunate bounce. I think if I did that a million times over it wouldn’t have gone that way. And what do you want me to say? It was three metres away from the kid. That’s a question you’re going to say after a three-hour battle against Nadal. That’s what you come here with?'

In contrast, Nadal was a gentleman throughout the contest and reserved praise for Kyrgios despite the verbal napalm the Australian unleashed.

'Nick is one of the most talented players on tour... when he's playing with motivation and passion, he's someone who can win against anyone,' Nadal said after coasting his way through the remainder of the third set.

'Being in the semi-finals, it's great news for me.'



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