Kyrgios reignites ‘racist’ feud with Dawn Fraser
It follows a row between the pair in 2015 after Kyrgios was accused of giving up, or "tanking", during a match at Wimbledon.
Nick Kyrgios. / AFP PHOTO / CHANDAN KHANNA
Temperamental Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios reignited a feud with swimming legend Dawn Fraser Tuesday, calling her “racist” after she was honoured by the Queen.
Fraser, winner of eight Olympic medals including four golds from 1956-64, was made a Companion of the Order of Australia in Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday honours list in recognition of her services to sport.
Racist tho https://t.co/0DJRoNB5PH
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) June 11, 2018
The 80-year-old told Australia’s Channel Seven: “I’m so very grateful that I’m Australian and I’ve been given this honour… it’s just absolutely fantastic.”
The broadcaster posted the clip on Twitter, and it was retweeted by Kyrgios with the message: “Racist tho”.
It follows a row between the pair in 2015 after Kyrgios was accused of giving up, or “tanking”, during a match at Wimbledon, and responded to media questions about the incident with a string of sarcastic replies.
At the time Fraser blasted his behaviour in a national television interview as “absolutely disgusting” and told him to “go back to where his parents came from”.
Australian-born Kyrgios, whose father hails from Greece and his mother from Malaysia, responded by calling Fraser a “blatant racist”.
Fraser later defended her controversial remarks, claiming her message was more about the poor example being set by Kyrgios for children.
For more news your way
Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.