(CNN)Nick Kyrgios admitted to spitting in the direction of a fan he believed treated him “disrespectfully” during his opening round win at Wimbledon.
The Aussie star defeated home favorite Paul Jubb 3-6 6-1 7-5 6-7 (3-7) 7-5 in an entertaining match but felt like a supporter was taking his heckling exceeded the goal.
After winning the match point, Kyrgios turned to one of the stands and spat on the ground as he headed for the net.
When asked by a reporter if he spat in the direction of that fan, Kyrgios replied: “That one of the people doesn’t respect me, yes. I wouldn’t do that to someone who supports me.
“I’m fine with getting a lot of it [heckling]. What I don’t understand is as soon as I return it, for example in Stuttgart I returned it and I got a match penalty.
“As soon as I won the match, I turned to him. I’ve dealt with hate and negativity for a long time, so I don’t feel I owe this person anything.
“He literally came to the game not to really support anyone. It was more just to goad and be disrespectful.”
Kyrgios had said earlier this month that he was racially abused by a member of the crowd at a tournament in Stuttgart that organizers were investigating.
The Australian said he was not racially abused on Tuesday but was concerned at the frequency of fan abuse.
“I’m just starting to think that when it really isn’t, it’s normal,” he told reporters. “I didn’t say anything to the crowd until they started every time I got to the other end. I don’t know if it’s normal or not.
“It has nothing to do with Wimbledon. I just think like on social media, a whole generation of people feel like they have the right to comment on every single thing with negativity. It just carries over to real life.
“Because there’s a fence there and I can’t physically do anything or say anything because I’ll get in trouble, so they just feel like they can just say whatever they want.”
That wasn’t the only flashpoint of the game as Kyrgios was also unhappy with a linesman’s decision on a point in the opening set.
He later said during his press conference that referees at Wimbledon should be younger because “actually younger people have better eyesight”.
Krygios will play doubles with Thanasi Kokkinakis on Wednesday before continuing his singles campaign against 26th seeded Filip Krajinović on Thursday.
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