Shanghai incidents in the past for Kyrgios
THE good news in Nick Kyrgios playing the Shanghai Masters this week is that he evidently does not hold the environment at the Chinese tournament responsible for two of his most notorious blow- ups.
Twelve months ago at Shanghai, Kyrgios was fined $ 14,000 and stripped of $ 29,000 prizemoney when he quit his first- round match after losing the opening set and then refused to submit to a medical check.
In Shanghai two years ago, Kyrgios was fined $ 70,000 and suspended for the rest of the 2016 season for a lack of effort in a second- round match, during which he argued with the umpire and fans.
Kyrgios, who has slipped to being the third- ranked Australian after his second- round loss in Tokyo last week, has drawn a qualifier in his first match at Shanghai.
Either 13th seed Borna Coric or three- time Grand Slam title winner Stan Wawrinka would be an opponent in the second round.
“I am not going back there expecting bad things – it’s another opportunity to play and get some wins while I’m in good shape,’’ Kyrgios said.
Kyrgios will be ranked No. 38 in today’s ranking list, his lowest ranking since February, 2016, and behind compatriots Alex de Minaur ( 33) and John Millman ( 34).
Millman was beaten in the first round of Shanghai qualifying on Saturday, 6- 4, 6- 4 by Radu Albot, of Moldova.
Millman is defending 187 of his 1233 ranking points in his past three tournaments of the year, all in Europe, and with it his place in the top 40.
NSW’s Ellen Perez yesterday lost her second final of a Futures tournament in eight days, falling in the Brisbane QTC International final to China’s Shilin Xu 6- 4, 6- 3.
The men’s final was taken out by Briton Evan Hoyt, a 6- 4, 7- 6 ( 7- 5) winner over Colin Sinclair, of the Northern Mariana Islands.
US Open champion Naomi Osaka has been forced to withdraw from the WTA Beijing tournament this week with a back injury, suffered at the China Open in Beijing this week.
Seven of the top- 10 men have entered the ATP Shanghai tournament, headed by Roger Federer as top seed and Novak Djokovic.