Just a few weeks after he was described as “overrated” and “a clown”, Nick Kyrgios has again come under fire for talking too much by Nikolay Davydenko.

Former world No 13 Kyrgios has been one of the most outspoken players following Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek’s failed drug tests.

Sinner tested positive for Clostebol in March, but he was allowed to continue playing and was later cleared of any wrongdoing.

A few months later, Swiatek tested positive for trimetazidine and was suspended for one month, although the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) also found that she bore “no significant fault or negligence”.

Just recently Sinner took to social media to hit out at Sinner in a reply to a post about the Italian, writing: “Yes. You tested for steroids. Very hard to talk to other people who aren’t.”

Davydenko recently stated that Kyrgios “is generally overrated” while his fellow Russian Elena Vesnina described him as “a clown” although she acknowledged he was “incredibly talented and gifted”.

In an interview on Match TV, Davydenko – who won 21 ATP singles titles – was asked about Sinner and replied: “Sinner’s a great player, he’s great.

“I like his tactics on the court, it’s not about doping. I saw him in 2019, compared to now, the difference is very decent. Jannik started to play differently, tactics changed seriously, so many people don’t have time to play with him.”

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The former world No 3 then used Mariano Puerta, who was found guilty of doping, as an example of shifting blame. The Argentine defeated Davydenko in the 2005 French Open semi-final, but failed a drug test after losing the final.

He added: “Half of the tennis players are now saying that he wins on doping. And now I’m going to shout that Puerta beat me with doping at Roland Garros in 2005?

“I physically died, and he didn’t, but I don’t know if doping helped him. I won’t shout in the press that he’s bad, but rather admit my guilt and coaching mistake.”

When asked: “Are you talking about Kyrgios?”

He replied: “Yes, Nick always talks, he’s a showman. He talks all sorts of nonsense on and off the court and will continue to do so. We’ll hear him more than once.”

But the Russian does admit that the current doping regulations are confusing.

“It’s starting to get crazy. When I played, it was easier,” he said. “We were also pressed, but we took it normally. I didn’t worry much, I drank and ate everywhere, not even thinking about the fact that I could dope.

“I don’t know why they tightened the control so much – there is no result. The ATP needs to look into this. Because in general it’s a very cool organisation that is loyal to the players.”