Australian Nick Kyrgios was yesterday fined US$10,000 and lost another US$21,085 in prize money after storming off midway through his first-round match at the Shanghai Rolex Masters.
Meanwhile, world No. 1 Rafael Nadal raced into the third round in just 54 minutes as he attempts to win one of the rare tournaments that has eluded him.
However, it was 22-year-old Kyrgios who was again in the spotlight following what was just his latest controversy on Tuesday.
The ATP yesterday said it fined Kyrgios for unsportsmanlike conduct, adding that he would not collect his prize money, because he failed to get signed off for a medical after retiring from his match.
Kyrgios’ time at the Shanghai Masters is over after he also pulled out of his scheduled doubles match with Frenchman Lucas Pouille yesterday.
He apologized after walking off the court on Tuesday, having lost the first-set tiebreak to American Steve Johnson.
In a statement posted on Twitter a few hours later he said that he had a “stomach bug” and had hurt his shoulder.
The tweet later appeared to have been deleted.
If Nadal was fast in dumping out American Jared Donaldson, rising star Alexander Zverev was even faster.
He was on court for just 12 minutes when Britain’s Aljaz Bedene retired hurt. Unseeded Bedene was losing 4-0 in the first set when he called it quits because of a leg injury.
Zverev, 20, the German prodigy who is seeking his sixth title of a breakthrough season, joins sixth seed Grigor Dimitrov in the third round.
However, the Bulgarian had an almighty scare and saved three match points before pulling through 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8/6) against American Ryan Harrison.
Also through in Shanghai, where matches were forced indoors because of rain, were France’s Gilles Simon and the US’ Sam Querrey.
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