Nick Kyrgios tumbled out of the Rogers Cup on Thursday night, falling to John Isner a day after insulting French Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka during a match.
The 16th-seeded Isner beat Kyrgios 7-5, 6-3 in the third-round match marred by Kyrgios and a fan shouting at each other.
On Wednesday night, a courtside microphone picked up Kyrgios saying that fellow Australian player Thanasi Kokkinakis had slept with a player who is reportedly Wawrinka’s girlfriend.
Photo: AFP
The ATP fined Nick Kyrgios US$10,000 on Thursday, the maximum fine allowed by the ATP rulebook for incidents of verbal abuse or unsportsmanlike conduct.
The ATP fined Kyrgios an additional US$2,500 for unsportsmanlike conduct related to a comment made to a ball person during the match.
The tour said Kyrgios has been served with a “notice of investigation,” which begins a process to determine if his actions also merit further sanctions.
Kyrgios issued an apology on Facebook.
“My comments were made in the heat of the moment and were unacceptable on many levels,” Kyrgios wrote. “I take full responsibility for my actions and regret what happened.”
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.”
In other games, top-ranked Novak Djokovic beat American Jack Sock 6-2, 6-1.
Djokovic took only 54 minutes to finish off the 35th-ranked Sock.
“I never played him before, so it took me some time to figure out what his patterns are,” Djokovic said. “I’ve watched him many times before, but it’s different standing on the court.”
The Serb, the tournament champion in 2007, 2011 and 2012, has won 50 of 53 matches this year.
Djokovic shut out Sock in the first game. With Djokovic leading the first set 3-2, Sock hit a ball long on break point. Djokovic broke Sock’s serve again in the final game to take the set.
“The turning point was the 3-2 game when I made a break,” Djokovic said.
“After that I just felt in control of the match. I was returning very well. I neutralized his serve, which is one of his biggest weapons,” he added.
In the second set, Sock made another unforced error on break point to go down 3-1. Djokovic started the final game of the second set with a beautiful drop shot and Sock sent his return long on triple match point.
Djokovic faces Latvia’s Ernests Gulbis in the quarter-finals. Gulbis beat Donald Young of the US 6-4, 6-4.
Second-seed Andy Murray also advanced, beating Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller 6-3, 6-2. The Scot broke Muller’s serve four times in the 65-minute match.
“I thought I played a good match,” Murray said. “Returned well. First game was important. I served a few breakpoints there. That kind of settled the nerves a little bit.”
Seventh-seeded Rafael Nadal of Spain beat Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 6-3 in a night match.
“When he plays like this, his level of tennis is much higher than what his ranking says,” Nadal said. “He played great today. When a player like him is playing well, it’s very dangerous. If he keeps playing like this, for sure he’ll finish the season high in the rankings. No doubt about that.”
In other late matches, fourth-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan topped 13th-seeded David Goffin of Belgium 6-4, 6-4, and 10th-seeded defending champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France beat Australia’s Bernard Tomic 7-6 (7/5), 6-3.
In the other quarter-finals, Nadal faces Nishikori, Murray is to meet Tsonga, and Isner is to play France’s Jeremy Chardy. Chardy beat Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic 4-6, 7-6 (7/1), 6-4.
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