Nick Kyrgios and John McEnroe are two of the more famously outspoken players in the history of tennis.
Kyrgios has previously beaten the likes of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, reaching his first Grand Slam singles final at Wimbledon in 2022.
However, he has not been anywhere near a major final in recent times, as Kyrgios has been struggling with injuries.
The Australian has competed against and beat many of the biggest names on the ATP Tour, but he never got the chance to play against the aforementioned McEnroe.
Photo by Rich Storry/Getty ImagesWhat Nick Kyrgios thinks would have happened if he ever played John McEnroe
As part of the Wimbledon coverage for TNT Sports, Kyrgios was asked 20 questions about all things tennis and more.
One of those questions asked Kyrgios which was his favourite match, but he did not name the Wimbledon final and instead his semifinal against Roger Federer at the Miami Open in 2017.
Despite losing that match, Kyrgios has fond memories of playing Federer in Miami in a three set thriller.
“Probably against Roger Federer in Miami,” answered Kyrgios. “It was a crazy atmosphere to play in and that match is very well known.”
Kyrgios was then asked to name a player he would have liked to have played against, but never got the chance to.
The 30-year-old quickly named McEnroe, but suggested that the American would have probably been defaulted due to his antics.
“John McEnroe. I think he would have been defaulted because I could get under his skin pretty easily,” said Kyrgios.
The attention then quickly turned to one of his less fine moments, as Kyrgios was questioned over a tennis moment that haunts him.
Kyrgios admitted that he just lost control when he was disqualified for throwing a chair at the Italian Open in 2019.
“Probably when I threw a chair in Rome and got defaulted,” said Kyrgios. “It was such an incredible match, it was a soccer crowd and I lost control.”
How many times was John McEnroe defaulted in his career?
Although Kyrgios believes that he could make McEnroe get defaulted if they ever played, he was only ever disqualified from a match once in his career.
That came at a Grand Slam tournament, with McEnroe being disqualified at the 1990 Australian Open.
After leading Mikael Pernfors by two sets to one, McEnroe was defaulted after receiving three code violations for unsportsmanlike conduct, racket abuse and swearing in a conversation with umpire Gerry Armstrong.
When looking back on that incident in 2015, McEnroe told the New York Times that he thought he should not have been defaulted for what he did at the Australian Open that year, but perhaps in other matches.
“It was rather ignominious I would say; it was almost so shocking that it was,” said McEnroe. “I pushed it to the limit a lot, so I suppose that even though I don’t feel like I should have been defaulted, say, in that particular match, I’m sure there were a few others where I probably deserved to be.”