Australian Olympian Sam Groth has taken a cheeky swipe at Kiwi doubles player Michael Venus after he lashed out at Nick Kyrgios. 

Venus and German playing partner Tim Puetz were beaten in three sets by Kyrgios and fellow Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis in the quarter-final of the men's doubles in front of a raucous crowd that the Aussie pair whipped into a frenzy. 

Speaking to TVNZ on Wednesday, Venus bluntly called Kyrgios "an absolute knob". 

"You see why he's never fulfilled his potential and probably never will," Venus said. 

"His maturity level, it's probably being generous to about a 10-year-old, it's at about that level." 

Speaking on Channel 9, Groth couldn't resist pointing out that Venus was making these remarks after being knocked out of the Australian Open. 

"He's not doing it from here in Melbourne Park because he lost in the tournament. 

"Throw barbs, but you're out of the tournament bud. Sorry Michael, I like you a lot, but there's a time and place. 

"I get it, the crowd's rowdy, Nick's rowdy – but you were giving it back, you were part of it, you were in that battle. I'm not convinced it was the right way to go. 

"I have known Michael for a long, long time. He is understandably a little bit bitter the way things went down. It's a different crowd. 

"Some of the antics were probably a little bit over the top. But this is an entertainment product. We are producing it for the fans that come into the stands, and we're producing it for television and getting eyeballs on the screen that wouldn't normally be watching." 

Venus suffered a double defeat at the quarter-final stage this week, going down in the men's doubles as well as the mixed doubles alongside compatriot Erin Routliffe. 

The Kiwi pair went down 6–4, 6–2 to fifth seeds Kristina Mladenovic of France and Ivan Dodig of Croatia. 

Michael Venus was unable to withstand a fired-up Nick Kyrgios in their doubles quarter-final. Video / Sky Sport