Earlier, controversial Australian Nick Kyrgios, who hit the headlines last week when he taunted opponent Stan Wawrinka in Montreal, was crushed 6-2 6-1 by Richard Gasquet in their first round match.
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It was during his second round tie against Wawrinka at the Rogers Cup last week that an on-court microphone picked up Kyrgios muttering: “Kokkinakis banged your girlfriend”.
“It’s not easy but I’m trying to focus on tennis and my next match”, the world No. 129 told The Province newspaper in Vancouver.
“I am working very hard to find my best game again”, said Nadal, who has been hampered by a string of injuries over the past couple of years.
When asked about the matter following his 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-3 victory over Borna Coric at the Western & Southern Open, Wawrinka said that he was trying to move on from the incident.
Kyrgios’s “sledge” insinuated that his buddy, Thanasi Kokkinakis, had been involved with a woman reportedly linked with Wawrinka, 19-year-old budding tennis star Donna Vecic. But it’s fine. I want to say some stuff, but I’ve got to keep it pretty low. “If he’s got a problem, he’s got to say it in private”, he told Australian Associated Press of the brash Kyrgios, whose behaviour has met with outrage before.
Kyrgios was also criticised by top seed Djokovic, who breezed through his third-round match against Jack Sock on Thursday.
On court immediately after the incident last week, Kyrgios claimed he had been provoked, saying: “He was getting a bit lippy with me”.
Later, Harrison said he doesn’t think Kokkinakis “is a bad guy.” He generally seemed to take out his, and the tour’s, frustration with Kyrgios on his friend instead. After he had separated them, Kokkinakis went off for a bathroom break when Harrison yelled, “Your whole crew is just so cool”, most likely referring to Nick Kyrgios. Since then he’s been dealing with the fallout that resulted from some disparaging remarks made by Kyrgios towards Wawrinka’s girlfriend.
He was certainly right about one thing: his comments were indeed “unacceptable on many levels”.
“He’s a professional tennis player and you just don’t behave like that”, she said on Channel Nine’s TODAY show.
You can find the details elsewhere, but the reality is that Wawrinka was not the sole target of Kyrgios’s comment.
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While Kokkinakis could be heard telling the tournament referee: “I’ve done nothing to disrespect him and he’s giving me that”.
