Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis, the subject of a controversial barb by pal Nick Kyrgios to Stan Wawrinka at Montreal, had some controversy of his own in qualifying for the Cincinnati Masters.
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A tennis legend and the head of women’s tennis join the call to make Kyrgios pay for off-colour comments about Stan Wawrinka’s relationship.
Trevor Kokkinakis told 891 ABC Adelaide’s breakfast program Harrison’s threat to “deck” Thanasi was “bizarre”. Following a 7-5 6-3 loss to John Isner yesterday, Kyrgios said that he personally apologized to Wawrinka in the players area at Uniprix Stadium and now wants to put the matter behind him but the ATP seems to have other plans.
“I was just on my laptop watching the [Kyrgios-Wawrinka] match, and then my phone just went insane”.
Kygrios embroiled Kokkinakis in an worldwide storm last week when he was pick up by a courtside microphone in Canada telling Swiss champion Stan Wawrinka that “Kokkinakis banged your girlfriend”.
He said Harrison and his son had been friendly before the incident and had played basketball together.
Kyrgios was forced to apologise, was fined US$10,000 for the slur and condemned by high-ranking peers including Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.
First, though, Kokkinakis must account for Italian Fabio Fognini and Kyrgios must avenge his fourth-round Wimbledon loss to Frenchman Richard Gasquet. Obviously I apologised in public (on Twitter and Facebook) and privately as well. He stated that his comments were during the “heat of the moment”.
I think I have Nick Kyrgios figured out – he’s really Benjamin Button. In a big fight and at this level, I understand.
“But it’s not, I would say, fair, and there’s no excuse of directing your tantrums to your opponent, especially to somebody that is not even there”, Wawrinka concluded. The Scot took a softer line to Kyrgios than Djokovic.
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Tennis legend Martina Navratilova also reacted strongly to Kyrgios’ recent behaviour, calling for the ATP to impose a harsher punishment on the 20-year-old Australian, who has been repeatedly pulled up for unsportsmanlike behaviour. “Sledge for a sledge”, she said, and was later quoted as saying, “It’s not a nice thing to say, it’s not, but you can’t always cop it on the chin from other people without retaliating”.
