Nick Kyrgios could face a hefty fine and even a ban after an expletive rant and clashing with the umpire during his loss at the Cincinnati Masters.
For the second tournament running, the Australian’s match was overshadowed by his behaviour towards the officials after being handed a court violation during his loss to Kyle Edmund at the Rogers Cup last week.
Once again, his temper got the better of him as he smashed two rackets when leaving the court after losing the second set of his second-round contest with Russia’s Karen Khachanov.
The 24-year-old stormed off for a bathroom break, despite not being given permission by umpire Fergus Murphy, who has clashed with Kyrgios when in the chair for his matches in the past, most recently at the Washington Open last month.
The world No.27 failed to regain his composure following his outburst and repeatedly engaged Murphy during the third set, eventually calling him a “tool” and allegedly spitting towards the umpire’s chair at the conclusion of the match.
With Kyrgios distracted, Khachanov dominated the deciding set as he set up a last-16 meeting with Lucas Pouille by winning 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-4) 6-2. However, the story was the behaviour of Kyrgios, who was recently fined £13,766 for similar unsportsmanlike behaviour at Queen’s in June.
