Kyrgios faces a ban for calling Tour chiefs ‘pretty corrupt’
Australian admits choice of words was ‘not correct’ Hundred players sign prize-money petition
Tennis’s king of controversy, Nick Kyrgios, could be facing a suspension after he accused the ATP Tour of corruption. This was the latest in a series of Kyrgios flashpoints this season – the only difference being that it took place in the interview room rather than on the court.
The story began at around 2am on Tuesday night, after Kyrgios had delivered an impressively slick first-round victory over Steve Johnson, of the United States.
When a reporter asked him for his response to the $113,000 (£92,450) fine that he had received for his abusive behaviour towards umpire Fergus Murphy in Cincinnati, Kyrgios replied: “The ATP is pretty corrupt anyway. I’m not fussed about it at all.”
The comment was in clear breach of the ATP’S rule book, which states that no player should “unreasonably attack or disparage any person or group of people”, and the tour responded yesterday by opening an investigation. Soon afterwards, Kyrgios posted a statement on social media, in the hope of heading off what could be a lengthy ban. “It was not the correct choice of words and my point and intention was to address what I see as double standards rather than corruption,” Kyrgios wrote. “I know my behaviour at times has been controversial and that has landed me in trouble, which at times is granted and valid but my issue is around others … doing the same or similar behaviour and not being sanctioned.”
Kyrgios’s conduct on court was relatively serene by his own recent standards, as he ousted Johnson 6-3, 7-6, 6-4. But he still earned a code violation from the British umpire James Keothavong after an argument that started when he was distracted by a spectator moving in the stands in the middle of a game.
The warning came under the heading of “audible obscenity”, and when Kyrgios kept arguing at the next change of ends, an impatient Johnson asked him “Do you want to play f------ tennis or host a s--show?” At the end of the match, the handshake was chilly in the extreme. Johnson made only the swiftest of contact and did not look at Kyrgios at all.
Kyrgios has become increasingly volatile in his conversations with umpires this season. He was disqualified in Rome after throwing a chair on to the court, and seems to have reached the stage where such angry disputes are habitual. It only takes one disagreement or distraction to set him off.
In theory, such repeated incidents could have earned Kyrgios a
‘My point was to address what I see as a double standard’
ban on the grounds of a consistent “pattern of behaviour”. But the ATP is a commercial body as well, and most tournament directors are desperate to put his name on their order of play. Among younger fans, in particular, he is the biggest draw.
Meanwhile, The Daily Telegraph has seen the legal letter handed around by a faction of the ATP player council at Friday’s open meeting. In his press conference on Tuesday night, Vasek Pospisil – who is the figurehead for this latest attempt to increase prize money – was asked to confirm reports that he had gathered a hundred signatures from his fellow players. “Pretty informed,” he replied with a smile.
The document is headed “Letter of engagement” and it requests Norton Rose Fulbright – the second largest law firm in the United States – to negotiate with the grand-slam tournaments and the International Tennis Federation.
This latest move to rack up the
pressure on the grand slams has split the leading players. While Novak Djokovic, the ATP player council president, is believed to be in favour, the letter has not been signed by at least half of the top 10. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem, Kei Nishikori and Stefanos Tsitsipas are all understood to have withheld their signatures.
Yesterday’s action was restricted to the two show courts with roofs, because of recurring showers. In the mid-afternoon match on Arthur Ashe Stadium, Federer started slowly for the second round in a row, before recovering to beat Damir Dzumhur 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4.
“I didn’t expect to hit 15 to 20 unforced errors [in the first set], which is basically the entire set just donated,” said Federer, who had been equally sluggish in the early exchanges with Sumit Nagal on Monday. “I just need to take the positives out of it, because once I lose that first set I do get better.”