French Open 2020: Nick Kyrgios tells Mats Wilander 'to shut up' over Andy Murray blast

Paris: Australian star Nick Kyrgios told Mats Wilander to “shut up” and that nobody cares what he thinks after the seven-time major winner controversially told Andy Murray to retire from tennis.

Former world number one Murray slumped to his joint-worst defeat at a Grand Slam on Sunday with a 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 loss at the hands of Stan Wawrinka in the first round of Roland Garros.

“I worry about Andy Murray. I would love to hear him say why he is out there, giving us a false sense of hope that he going to come back one day,” Wilander told Eurosport.

“I keep getting a little bit disappointed, is it his right to be out there doing that? Why? I did it and I shouldn’t have, it was the biggest mistake I did in my career. I think Andy Murray needs to stop thinking of himself and start thinking about who he was. Does he have a right to be out there taking wildcards from the young players?”

Kyrgios, no stranger to taking potshots at some of the sport’s biggest names, leapt to the defence of 33-year-old Murray who needed a wildcard to play his first clay court tournament in three years.

“Just read what Wilander said about @andy_murray …. shut up Mats, no one cares,” tweeted Kyrgios.

Just read what Wilander said about @andy_murray .... shut up Mats, no one cares. Muzz, just know that how ever long you stay, we all appreciate and enjoy your tennis and banter. Also I’ve never watched a point of Mats Wilander. 😂🤦🏽‍♂️

— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) September 28, 2020

“Muzz, just know that how ever long you stay, we all appreciate and enjoy your tennis and banter. Also I’ve never watched a point of Mats Wilander.”

Murray, a three-time Grand Slam title winner and runner-up at the French Open in 2016, has undergone two hip surgeries in order to cure an injury which pushed him to the brink of retirement.

After his loss to Wawrinka - his first opening round defeat in Paris since his 2006 debut - Murray insisted he intends to keep playing even though his ranking is now 111.

Murray also found support from former coach Daniel Vallverdu who coached him from 2010-2014.

He’s entitled to his opinion. Like i’m entitled to mine to think that’s absolutely PATHETIC from Mats... https://t.co/a3igsQKFOP

— Daniel Vallverdu (@danielvallverdu) September 27, 2020

“He’s entitled to his opinion. Like I’m entitled to mine to think that’s absolutely PATHETIC from Mats…,” tweeted Vallverdu who is now the coach of Wawrinka.