Tennis star Nick Kyrgios has come under fire again for yet another round of controversial antics at the Shanghai Rolex Masters.
Kyrgios was punished after shaking hands with American opponent Steve Johnson, packing his bags and walking off court... in the middle of a match. He dramatically abandoned the game on Tuesday after losing his first set with Johnson on a tiebreaker.
READ MORE: Nick Kyrgios Suspended for Outburst at 2016 Shanghai Masters
During the match, the 22-year-old Aussie was visibly irritated with umpire Fergus Murphy, losing his temper and calling him "a joke." He was given a penalty for an audible obscenity during the tiebreaker, which he had also threatened to quit if he lost.
During the match he was heard yelling at Murphy:
“This is normal? You wait for 20 minutes to have to serve. Poor officiating by you. You are a joke."
“You think this place could not get any more ridiculous, sh*t like this happens."
Following the tantrum, he then stormed off court, receiving plenty of boos from the crowd.
"What is it about Shanghai and Nick Kyrgios?," asked one television commentator in response to the behavior. "Emotions getting the better of him and he's off."
Watch the highlights below (VPN on):
The Association of Tennis Players (ATP) stripped Krygios of his first-round prize money (more than USD21,000). He was also fined an additional USD10,000 for "unsportsmanlike conduct" — in a prior game he had received a warning for smashing a ball off court in a fit of rage.
Combined, the fines totaled to more than USD31,000.
Kyrgios apologized, explaining on Twitter shortly after giving up that he was suffering from a stomach bug and sore shoulder:
"I want to apologise to the fans in Shanghai and those that watched around the world on TV today. I’ve been battling a stomach bug for the last 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.
"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 for the past 24 hours."
The tweet was later deleted.
According to ATP Tour rules, players are required to check in with a physician if injured. Kyrgios was fined for not seeking medical help following the match retirement. It was later announced that the #21 ranked player had also withdrawn from the double tournament on Wednesday.
It's the second year in a row the hot-headed Aussie has been punished for bad behavior at the Shanghai Rolex Masters. Last year Kyrgios was suspended and fined more than USD50,000 for a bizarre outburst which saw him throw a 6-3, 6-1 match against German Mischa Sverev while asking an umpire, "Can you call time so I can finish this match and go home?"
But that's not all. When asked at a press conference later on if he owed fans a better effort, he responded as such:
"What does that event mean? I'm good at hitting a tennis ball at the net. Big deal. I don't owe them anything. If you don't like it, I didn't ask you to come watch. Just leave."
Just a week ago at the China Open in Beijing, Kryrgios said he wanted to come clean for last year's snub.
Commenting on more strange behavior in a rematch against Sverev in the capital — which saw Kyrgios slam his racket to the ground and bend its head in half — he told media:
"Obviously didn't have a great one last year, obviously got suspended after that."
"I just wanted to go out there today and kind of redeem myself a little bit from last year," he said, adding: "I just wanted to prove to myself how much I have improved."
Kyrgios won that match, eventually going on to compete against Rafael Nadal in the final. The #1 ranked Spaniard handily defeated Kyrgios with a 6-2, 6-1 victory.
Kyrgios also received a penalty during that game for arguing with the umpire.
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