LONDON, June 21 ― Nick Kyrgios made a characteristically controversial exit at Queen's Club yesterday as the Australian blasted officials and accused a line judge of “match-rigging”.
The 24-year-old let rip after he had been given a code violation by umpire Fergus Murphy for querying a line call on a set point in his first-round match with Roberto Carballes Baena of Spain.
Kyrgios, who was disqualified from the Italian Open last month for throwing a chair across court amid a foul-mouthed rant, would not let the call lie and threatened to walk off the court.
“I'm not going to give 100 per cent when I've got linesmen rigging the game; I don't want to play,” said Kyrgios.
However, he did return to beat Carballes Baena 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 before losing a tight second-round match against Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/3), 7-5.
“I thought some of the calls were outrageous today. It shouldn't have to come down to me and Felix giving each other points,” said Kyrgios after playing on an outside court without Hawk-Eye technology.
Kyrgios has been routinely fined for his behaviour on court.
His outburst at the Rome Masters which saw him default a second-round tie against Norway's Casper Ruud cost him a €20,000 (RM93,711) fine, along with his €34,000 prize money.
However, he accused the ATP of double standards with no punishment for officials who make bad calls.
“Why can't they get fined for having a terrible day in the chair? Like, there's hundreds of thousands of dollars on the line. It's not a joke,” he added.
“They just think it's a joke because nothing happens to them after the match. They don't get any investigation or anything. I think it's ridiculous.
“Why not have another umpire ready to come in if that guy's have a terrible day? I don't understand. I have to pay the fines for it.” ― AFP
