Boris Becker blows away Nick Kyrgios as tennis fans weigh in on feud

Boris Becker trumped Nick Kyrgios as tennis fans threw their weight behind six-time Grand Slam winner in his feud with the Australian tennis star. Becker recently hit back at the Wimbledon runner-up when Kyrgios claimed that former players were no match for today’s pros. The 28-year-old responded by stating that he had brought more fans to the sport and built his own brand but Express Sport readers disagreed and sided heavily with Becker.

Kyrgios and Becker have been beefing on X (formerly known as Twitter) in recent days after the 56-year-old took issue with some of the former world No 13’s comments. “The game was so slow back then. I’ve watched Boris Becker and I’m not saying they weren’t good in their time, but to say that they would be just as good now, it’s absurd,” Kyrgios told The Athletic earlier this month.

What followed was a series of back-and-forth tweets, with Becker retaliating and saying that the Australian was “making a lot of noise” for someone who hadn’t won a Grand Slam singles title. Kyrgios responded by claiming he “brought millions more fans to the sport and has made more money for everyone”.

Although the seven-time title winner argued that he had been able to build a name for himself, appearing on Netflix’s Break Point documentary, Express Sport readers overwhelmingly sided with Becker in the fiery feud. Asked which player had brought more fans to tennis, 69 per cent voted for the 56-year-old.

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And 68 per cent of fans said they would rather watch Becker than Kyrgios at their respective peaks, with the retired star blowing his young rival out of the water. Following the 28-year-old’s initial comments about former pros, Becker claimed that Kyrgios wouldn’t be able to make a living from tennis were it not for his predecessors.

“We live in a democracy. Everyone can think what he wants. You have to have respect for the past and simply say ‘thank you’ out loud that these old pros existed, because without them the tennis circus would no longer exist,” the current coach of Holger Rune said on Eurosport’s Das Gelbe vom Ball podcast.

“I did play a bit in the 80s, but there was [Stefan] Edberg, [Mats] Wilander. The 90s were [Andre] Agassi, [Pete] Sampras. All these players make it possible for Nick Kyrgios not to play tennis at all this year and still be able to make a living from tennis

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But the Australian Open men’s doubles champion refused to back down and brought up Becker’s criminal past after the 56-year-old was found guilty of four charges under the Insolvency Act last April. Kyrgios tweeted: “Uhhh what? I’ve been arguably one of the most watched players outside the big three the last decade? Fans around the world and have brought so many more people to the sport. I’ve created my own stuff off the court. Try to not hide any more assets x”.

Former world No 1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov later weighed into the spat, writing: “Dude hasn’t won Slam in singles and comparing his impact to game of tennis to one of the BEST legend in our sport Boris Becker @TheBorisBecker?? What kind of w*** is he smoking??” But Kyrgios clarified that he wasn’t trying to take Becker’s Grand Slam success away.

In a direct reply to the Russian, he said: “Never ever said that he hasn’t impacted the game champion. We have another potato on board. He said that if you haven’t won a slam there is no credibility???? RUBLEV??? lol you old heads are all the same.”

And Kyrgios put the argument to bed when he posted: “Not once have I taken ‘slams’ away from Becker, or any of these legends. Not once have I said I’ve impacted the game MORE. I’ve simply said that I’ve built my own brand and done it my way & brought fans. Apparently a slam finalist has no credibility. Night, done with this convo.”

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