Nick Kyrgios fined for controversial walk-out; stripped off prize money
Australia ace Nick Kyrgios has been fined $10,000 and denied $21,085 prize money from his first-round game against Steve Johnson after the 22-year-old walked out of the Shanghai Masters’ match. This is the second consecutive year that the Australian has faced punishment for misconduct at Shanghai.
Nick Kyrgios is now synonymous with controversy in almost every tournament that he participates in, and Shanghai Masters was no exception. The player abruptly left the court on Tuesday after his dissatisfaction with umpire Fergus Murphy’s decision of a point penalty for audible obscenity.
Kyrgios looked upset with the decision and was heard saying that he would quit if he lost the tie-break. After that happened, the 22-year-old shook hands with opponent Steve Johnson and umpire Murphy and left the court leaving his opponent and his fans baffled.
Though Kyrgios later blamed it on a stomach bug and even apologized to his fans through a tweet, he didn't seek medical help on court nor did he follow the ATP Tour rules of having a medical examination following his retirement.
This didn’t go down well with the authorities and it resulted in him losing $21,085 (£16,000) that he would have earned in prize money for the first-round match and was fined $10,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct. Kyrgios subsequently withdrew from his second-round doubles match on Wednesday as well.
However, this is not his first feud with the officials in Shanghai. Last year too, the player had faced punishment for exhibiting lack of effort in his second-round match against Mischa Zverev, during which he argued with the umpire and fans. He was fined more than $50,000 and banned from the ATP Tour then.
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