Nick Kyrgios blames "stomach bug" for Shanghai Masters walk off
Nick Kyrgios has apologised to fans after retiring from his first-round match at the Shanghai Masters, against Steve Johnson, insisting that he had to walk off due to a stomach bug and shoulder injury. The tournament officials, though, set up an investigation for the inquiry of the incident.
The Australian, who was suspended by the men's tour for insulting fans following a loss to Mischa Zverev at the Shanghai Masters last year, argued several times with the chair umpire during his first-round match against Steve Johnson on Tuesday. After losing the tiebreaker 7-6 (5), Kyrgios shook hands with his opponent Steve Johnson at the net and then with the chair umpire before walking off the court. While it seemed like his quit was triggered by the umpiring decisions, Kyrgios later tweeted that he was suffering a stomach bug and a sore shoulder.
"I've been battling a stomach bug for the past 24 hours and I tried to be ready but I was really struggling on the court today, which I think was pretty evident from the first point," he wrote in a Facebook post.
"My shoulder started to hurt in the practice today, which didn't help either, and once I lost the first set I was just not strong enough to continue because I've not eaten much the past 24 hours."
In the match, Kyrgios received two code violations for unsportsmanlike conduct - the first for smashing a ball out of the stadium and expressed his dissatisfaction at the umpire for a misjudgement. The temperamental Aussie exploded at the umpire when officials mistakenly allowed spectators to enter the arena.
“This is normal. You wait for 20 minutes to have to serve. Poor officiating by you. You are a joke,” he fumed, reported ESPN.
“You think this place could not get any more ridiculous, shit like this happens. What is he doing?”
The ATP later stated that they were investigating the matter. Meanwhile, Kyrgios added in his post that he would decide on Wednesday whether to play his scheduled doubles.
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