By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, December 2, 2022
Nick Kyrgios pulled no punches in his reaction to Fernando Verdasco's two-month doping suspension in the latest shot between the feuding pair.
Photo credit: Getty
Nick Kyrgios and Fernando Verdasco have engaged in social media sparring in the past.
Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios pulled no punches in his reaction to Verdasco's two-month doping suspension.
"Can't say I'm surprised with this one," Kyrgios commented on Twitter.
That comment came in response to Verdaco's two-month suspension after his "inadvertent" positive test for an ADHD medication.
The 38-year-old Spaniard acknowledged the presence of the ADHD medication, methylphenidate, in a urine sample. Verdasco accepted a voluntary provisional suspension and will serve a two month suspension, the International Tennis Integrity Agency announced today.
Former world No. 7 Verdasco was tested at an ATP Challenger event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in February 2022.
Verdasco admitted the Anti-Doping rule violation and explained that he had been medically diagnosed with ADHD and legitimately used methylphenidate as medication prescribed by his physician to treat the condition in accordance with a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE), but had forgotten to renew his TUE when it expired.
Kyrgios' tweet suggests he may not be buying it.
Aussie veteran John Millman suggests a TUE can open a legal loophole some players can exploit to dope.
"In general I really don’t like TUE’s in professional sport," Millman posted on Twitter. "Opens up way too many loopholes to “legally dope” - it’s very unfortunate for those with legitimate need as is the probable case here.
"However it’s been long known that if you want to dope, get a TUE."
The Kyrgios comment is the latest shot fired in an ongoing feud between the mercurial Aussie and veteran Verdasco.
Back in 2018, Verdasco and Thanasi Kokkinakis, Kyrgios good friend and doubles partner, got heated during a third-round Miami Open match.
The left-handed Spaniard complained a man in the crowd was trying to distract him between his first and second serves.
It turns out, that man was Kokkinakis's father, which prompted spicy on-court conflict and Kokkinakis' famed retort: "That's my fucking dad!"
Watch the full argument below.
After that tiff, Kyrgios jumped with a tweet he later deleted. Oh, but Twitter never forgets. Here’s the tweet in question, as it was screen-capped.
Verdasco got wind of the deleted tweet and posted the following reply questioning Kyrgios' courage:
As you can imagine, that did comment did not exactly soothe Kyrgios, who took this crack at Verdasco.