Nick Kyrgios was jeered by some supporters as he crashed out of the Rogers Cup on the day he apologised and was fined for his jibe towards Stan Wawrinka.
It was an eventful 24 hours for the world number 41, whose victory over Wawrinka in Montreal on Wednesday was overshadowed after it had emerged Kyrgios had sledged the Swiss.
On-court microphones recorded 20-year-old Kyrgios walking to the net and saying: ”Kokkinakis banged your girlfriend. Sorry to tell you that mate” – an apparent reference to Australian Davis Cup team-mate Thanasi Kokkinakis.
Teenage Croatian player Donna Vekic has been linked to Wawrinka since he divorced his wife Ilham in April. Vekic, 19, was in the crowd to watch the Swiss’ Wimbledon third-round win over Fernando Verdasco last month.
Kyrgios has been hit with an initial fine of 10,000 US dollars – equating to £6,405 – but that could rise, said a spokesman for men’s tour the ATP.
French Open champion Wawrinka branded the behaviour of Kyrgios ”unacceptable”, while world number one Novak Djokovic said the comments were “completely unnecessary”.
Kyrgios offered an apology on Thursday, and he was later beaten in straight sets by John Isner in their third-round match.
Kyrgios was booed as he emerged onto the Banque Nationale court and received similar opprobrium as he exited the stadium after a 7-5 6-3 defeat to the big-serving American.
The mercurial Australian wrote on Twitter: “Tough crowd today & even tougher opponent, well playedJohnIsner unreal serving mate. Good luck in the next round. TooGood.”
He had earlier written on Facebook: “I would like to take this opportunity to apologise for the comments I made during the match last night vs Stan Wawrinka.
“My comments were made in the heat of the moment and were unacceptable on many levels.
“In addition to the private apology I’ve made, I would like to make a public apology as well. I take full responsibility for my actions and regret what happened.”
Kyrgios won through after his opponent retired hurt – and Wawrinka tweeted afterwards: ”So disappointing to see a fellow athlete and colleague be so disrespectful in a way I could never even imagine.
”What was said I wouldn’t say to my worst enemy. To stoop so low is not only unacceptable but also beyond belief.“
Controversy has followed Kyrgios around since his 2014 breakthrough when he knocked Rafael Nadal out of Wimbledon.
At this year’s Wimbledon he was moved to deny accusations of abusing an umpire and throwing a game, and while subsequently on Davis Cup duty with his country against Kazakhstan he shouted “I don’t want to be here” while on court.
Former 18-time grand slam winner Chris Evert expressed her concern about Wednesday’s outburst from Kyrgios, writing on Twitter: “A hurtful, offensive comment like that is not a good reflection on Kyrgios or the sport….”
Kyrgios was also criticised by top seed Djokovic, who breezed through his third-round match against Jack Sock on Thursday.
Djokovic said in his press conference, shown on sportsnet.ca: “I’m not one who should judge reaction but in my opinion it was completely unnecessary to comment on something like that.
“He was fined and he deserved it. He’s learned a lesson in a hard way and hopefully this won’t happen to him any more.
“It’s not fair and there’s no excuse of directing your tantrums to your opponent and especially to someone who is not even there.”
Djokovic added: “Some players have the problem to control themselves on court sometimes when you go through emotional challenges and it slips out of your mouth, but there’s no excuse for what he said yesterday.”