Nick Kyrgios moves closer to his 28-day suspension after receiving a $1,500 fine at the Shanghai Rolex Masters in his opening match against Andreas Haider-Maurer. The 20-year-old complained about the ball kids, called the event a “circus”, and complained about the "f*cking surface". The Australian won 6-3, 6-2 and will face Kei Nishikori first on Stadium Court tomorrow.
$3,500 away from a one-month suspension
The 20-year-old was criticized after his Rogers Cup against Stan Wawrinka releasing his “infamous sledge” talking about Wawrinka, his girlfriend Donna Vekic, and Kyrgios’ fellow countryman Thanasi Kokkinakis. After that, the ATP handed down two fines for a combined $12,500 after that sledge. The ATP said they would begin to monitor his behavior after that. Just a week after the sledge, Kyrgios was handed down a conditional $25,000 fine and a one-month suspension.
The one-month suspension is avoidable for him though. He can avoid the suspension under two different conditions. The conditions are if he:
- does not incur fines for any verbal or physical abuse at any ATP sanctioned event or
- does not accumulate fines totalling more than $5000 for any other offenses at ATP sanctioned events
As it stands, he is, $3,500 away from getting that one-month suspension. Last week, he was heard screaming “f*ck me” during his loss against France’s Benoit Paire at the Rakuten Open. He did not receive a code violation, fine, or call of verbal abuse for this. He did however received a code violation for hitting a ball at the indoor roof at the Rakuten Open.
Kokkinakis defending his countryman
Thanasi Kokkinakis, who was the man mentioned during the sledge, came out and talked about his Davis Cup teammate. He said, “To be fair I’ve been watching him and he’s playing well and he’s probably a bit more switched on then I’ve seen him before. He’s not going to change completely and not not get frustrated. But he’s toning it down a bit.”