Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios calls ATP ‘corrupt’ for $100,000 fine

New York: Nick Kyrgios says the ATP is “corrupt” for fining him more than $100,000 this month for his behaviour during a match.

Asked if that recent punishment from the men’s tour — only the latest in a long series that also included a suspension — affected him mentally coming into the US Open, he replied: “Not at all. ATP’s pretty corrupt, anyway, so I’m not fussed about it at all.”

Kyrgios insulted a chair umpire and left the court to smash two rackets during a second-round loss at the Western & Southern Open this month.

The next day, the ATP listed a breakdown of eight fines ranging from $3,000 to $20,000 each, for violations such as unsportsmanlike conduct, verbal abuse and audible obscenity.

When a reporter asked a follow-up question about his use of the word “corrupt” following his straight-set victory over Steve Johnson that ended past 1am on Wednesday at Flushing Meadows, Kyrgios first referenced his fines totalling $113,000.

Then he added: “Why are we talking about something that happened three weeks ago, when I just chopped up someone (in the) first round of US Open?”

Kyrgios strutted into the second round, sweeping past Steve Johnson 6-3, 7-6, 6-4.

It was nearly midnight when the last match of the day started but Kyrgios kept the crowd awake with his usual mixture of great tennis and bad language, including a warning in the second set for cursing after he was angered when a fan moved behind the baseline.

But minutes later he summoned some of his best tennis to prevent Johnson from getting into the match, seizing a 6-0 lead in the tiebreaker. He capped that run by sprinting to chase down a drop shot, then strutting near the net after winning the point.

Kyrgios being Kyrgios, the Australian received a code violation for an audible obscenity following an argument with the chair umpire.