MONTREAL — After he was hit with a hefty fine and booed by the Uniprix Stadium crowd, Nick Kyrgios said he just wants to put his incident with Stan Wawrinka behind him.
Kyrgios made a derogatory comment to Wawrinka during their second-round match at the Rogers Cup on Wednesday. A courtside microphone picked up Kyrgios saying that fellow Australian player Thanasi Kokkinakis had slept with a player who is reportedly Wawrinka’s girlfriend.
Kyrgios subsequently made an inappropriate comment to a ball person about the age of Wawrinka’s reported girlfriend.
The ATP fined Kyrgios US$10,000 on Thursday for his "insulting remark" toward Wawrinka and an additional US$2,500 for the comment to the ball person.
Prior to finding out about the additional fine, Kyrgios said he hoped to move on from the incident.
"It’s all cleared now," said Kyrgios after his third-round loss to American John Isner. "Obviously I apologized in public and privately as well. I’ve been fined. So everything is sort of put to bed now."
Following a video review of the match, however, the ATP also served Kyrgios with a "Notice of Investigation" to determine if the Australian’s remarks constituted a "major offence." Kyrgios could face more fines and a suspension from future ATP events.
Several fans booed Kyrgios when he took to the court on Thursday. Kyrgios lost to Isner in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3. The Montreal crowd’s frosty response made headlines in Kyrgios’s native Australia.
"It’s been tough," he said. "I wouldn’t say it’s been the toughest thing that’s happened. I got some sleep last night."
Wawrinka was livid at Kyrgios’s trash talk and took to Twitter after the match to ask the ATP to respond.
"There is no need for this kind of behaviour on or off the court and I hope the governing body of this sport does not stand for this," he posted.
He called the 20-year-old Australian’s words "not only unacceptable but also beyond belief."
Kyrgios ended up beating Wawrinka on the court when the Swiss player retired with a lower-back injury while trailing 4-0 in the third set.
In a post-match interview on court, Kyrgios said Wawrinka had provoked him.
"He was getting a bit lippy at me so, I don’t know, it’s just in-the-moment sort of stuff," Kyrgios said. "I don’t really know, I just said it."
Kyrgios and Wawrinka then clashed in the hallway by the locker room.
"It was interesting," said Kyrgios on Thursday of the post-match altercation. "He came up to me, as I knew he would. I wasn’t surprised. I told him I was sorry.
"Obviously he was angry. So I just had to deal with it. Something I had to deal with. Hopefully we can just put it behind us."
Kyrgios also made a public apology Thursday on his Facebook page.
"I would like to take this opportunity to apologise for the comments I made during the match last night vs Stan Wawrinka," he said. "My comments were made in the heat of the moment and were unacceptable on many levels. In addition to the private apology I’ve made, I would like to make a public apology as well. I take full responsibility for my actions and regret what happened."
The $10,000 fine is the maximum for incidents of verbal abuse or unsportsmanlike conduct.
"In my opinion it was completely unnecessary to comment on something like that," said world No. 1 Novak Djokovic after his 6-2, 6-1 win over Jack Sock on Thursday. "I think he was fined … and he deserved it. I think he’s going to learn a lesson in a hard way and hopefully this won’t happen to him anymore."
The 30-year-old Wawrinka, ranked fifth in the world, announced in April that he had separated from his wife, with whom he has a daughter. The Swiss player has since been linked with 19-year-old Donna Vekic of Croatia, who is ranked 127th.
Vekic played mixed doubles with Kokkinakis, also 19 and ranked No. 76, at the 2014 Australian Open as a wild-card entry.
Wawrinka’s coach, Magnus Norman, also criticized Kyrgios, who has been at the centre of controversy in recent weeks.
"That was really really low Nick Kyrgios," Norman wrote on Twitter. "Hope for u that u have people around that will teach u a thing or 2 about life tonight. Very bad."
At Wimbledon last month, Kyrgios was booed by spectators in a fourth-round loss to Richard Gasquet of France. Kyrgios appeared to make little attempt to return Gasquet’s serve during the third game of the second set after a dispute with the chair umpire.
That incident prompted Australian swimming great Dawn Fraser to question the character of Kyrgios and suggest he could leave the country and return to where his parents came from.
Kyrgios, who was born in Australia to a father born in Greece and mother born in Malaysia, replied on Twitter that Fraser was a "blatant racist." She later apologized.
ATP fines Kyrgios for ‘insulting’ on-court comment
Arash Madani spoke with Bob McCown and Elliotte Friedman on Prime Time Sports to talk Rogers Cup, both the Canadians getting ousted early and the why what Nick Kyrgios did was so wrong.
MONTREAL — After he was hit with a hefty fine and booed by the Uniprix Stadium crowd, Nick Kyrgios said he just wants to put his incident with Stan Wawrinka behind him.
Kyrgios made a derogatory comment to Wawrinka during their second-round match at the Rogers Cup on Wednesday. A courtside microphone picked up Kyrgios saying that fellow Australian player Thanasi Kokkinakis had slept with a player who is reportedly Wawrinka’s girlfriend.
Kyrgios subsequently made an inappropriate comment to a ball person about the age of Wawrinka’s reported girlfriend.
The ATP fined Kyrgios US$10,000 on Thursday for his "insulting remark" toward Wawrinka and an additional US$2,500 for the comment to the ball person.
Prior to finding out about the additional fine, Kyrgios said he hoped to move on from the incident.
"It’s all cleared now," said Kyrgios after his third-round loss to American John Isner. "Obviously I apologized in public and privately as well. I’ve been fined. So everything is sort of put to bed now."
Following a video review of the match, however, the ATP also served Kyrgios with a "Notice of Investigation" to determine if the Australian’s remarks constituted a "major offence." Kyrgios could face more fines and a suspension from future ATP events.
Several fans booed Kyrgios when he took to the court on Thursday. Kyrgios lost to Isner in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3. The Montreal crowd’s frosty response made headlines in Kyrgios’s native Australia.
"It’s been tough," he said. "I wouldn’t say it’s been the toughest thing that’s happened. I got some sleep last night."
Wawrinka was livid at Kyrgios’s trash talk and took to Twitter after the match to ask the ATP to respond.
"There is no need for this kind of behaviour on or off the court and I hope the governing body of this sport does not stand for this," he posted.
He called the 20-year-old Australian’s words "not only unacceptable but also beyond belief."
Kyrgios ended up beating Wawrinka on the court when the Swiss player retired with a lower-back injury while trailing 4-0 in the third set.
In a post-match interview on court, Kyrgios said Wawrinka had provoked him.
"He was getting a bit lippy at me so, I don’t know, it’s just in-the-moment sort of stuff," Kyrgios said. "I don’t really know, I just said it."
Kyrgios and Wawrinka then clashed in the hallway by the locker room.
"It was interesting," said Kyrgios on Thursday of the post-match altercation. "He came up to me, as I knew he would. I wasn’t surprised. I told him I was sorry.
"Obviously he was angry. So I just had to deal with it. Something I had to deal with. Hopefully we can just put it behind us."
Kyrgios also made a public apology Thursday on his Facebook page.
"I would like to take this opportunity to apologise for the comments I made during the match last night vs Stan Wawrinka," he said. "My comments were made in the heat of the moment and were unacceptable on many levels. In addition to the private apology I’ve made, I would like to make a public apology as well. I take full responsibility for my actions and regret what happened."
The $10,000 fine is the maximum for incidents of verbal abuse or unsportsmanlike conduct.
"In my opinion it was completely unnecessary to comment on something like that," said world No. 1 Novak Djokovic after his 6-2, 6-1 win over Jack Sock on Thursday. "I think he was fined … and he deserved it. I think he’s going to learn a lesson in a hard way and hopefully this won’t happen to him anymore."
The 30-year-old Wawrinka, ranked fifth in the world, announced in April that he had separated from his wife, with whom he has a daughter. The Swiss player has since been linked with 19-year-old Donna Vekic of Croatia, who is ranked 127th.
Vekic played mixed doubles with Kokkinakis, also 19 and ranked No. 76, at the 2014 Australian Open as a wild-card entry.
Wawrinka’s coach, Magnus Norman, also criticized Kyrgios, who has been at the centre of controversy in recent weeks.
"That was really really low Nick Kyrgios," Norman wrote on Twitter. "Hope for u that u have people around that will teach u a thing or 2 about life tonight. Very bad."
At Wimbledon last month, Kyrgios was booed by spectators in a fourth-round loss to Richard Gasquet of France. Kyrgios appeared to make little attempt to return Gasquet’s serve during the third game of the second set after a dispute with the chair umpire.
That incident prompted Australian swimming great Dawn Fraser to question the character of Kyrgios and suggest he could leave the country and return to where his parents came from.
Kyrgios, who was born in Australia to a father born in Greece and mother born in Malaysia, replied on Twitter that Fraser was a "blatant racist." She later apologized.
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