A furious Nick Kyrgios has lashed out at Pat Rafter for branding his doubles pairing with Thanasi Kokkinakis a 'circus' that is getting other stars offside - saying the tennis legend has 'absolutely zero idea' how today's players think.
The 'Special Ks' were a huge drawcard at last year's Australian Open as they won the men's doubles title in flamboyant style, with wild celebrations on the court as they got the crowd onside - but angering several of their opponents.
Rafter showed he's not exactly a fan of the duo's style in comments made to the Australian Open's Happy Slam podcast.
'The players are really upset about it,' he said.
'It's a bit of a circus. Doubles is a great event, it's a lot of fun and it helps you with singles, but it's not where it's at.
'If they create drama, create ticket sales, and they create people watching, then good on them, but at what expense, I don't know.
'The players are really upset. Are you supposed to understand the unwritten rule that that's not how you behave when you do?'
Kyrgios wasn't taking that lying down, hitting back in a Twitter post on Wednesday.
'He would have absolutely zero idea what the locker room thinks,' the 29-year-old wrote.
'Me and kokk have great relationships with most of the players on tour. Guy is clueless.'
It's the second time Kyrgios has taken aim at critics of his antics in recent days.
When tickets for his exhibition match against Novak Djokovic sold out in just 58 minutes, the Aussie star turned the tables on his detractors on social media.
'Wow Nick Kyrgios is bad for the sport! Wow what a disgrace, a national embarrassment! How dare he sell out another stadium, the arrogance,' he wrote on Twitter.
In a separate tweet, Kyrgios also fired back at former US tennis player Noah Rubin who questioned the wisdom of scheduling an exhibition match just days before the start of the Australian Open.
In a separate tweet, Kyrgios also fired back at former US tennis player Noah Rubin who questioned the wisdom of scheduling an exhibition match just days before the start of the Australian Open.
'To be fair it will bring more crowd then any of your matches,' the Aussie replied.
Kyrgios is due to face Djokovic on Friday - assuming the Serb recovers from the knee injury that saw him forced to leave the court during an exhibition match against Daniil Medvedev on Wednesday.
