Nick Kyrgios is just $3500 away from ATP suspension after on-court antics at Shanghai Masters

Nick Kyrgios is on the verge of a 28-day suspension from ATP after the controversial tennis pro was fined US$1500 (AU$2073.69) for misbehaving during his first round victory against Andreas Haider-Maurer at the Shanghai Masters tournament. Kyrgios was put on probation by the ATP earlier this year, with the threat of a four-week ban and US$25,000 (AU$34,551.87) fine if the Australian accrues US$5000 (AU$6912.28) in fines before February.

Kyrgios earned his second code violation warning in just a week’s time after branding the ATP Masters 1000 event a “circus” and complaining about the “f------ surface” during his game against Haider-Maurer. The 20-year-old received his first warning last week in his quarterfinal loss against Benoit Paire at the Japan Open after hitting the ball into the roof of the stadium.

"I was just expecting a lot more obviously from a Masters event,” Kyrgios said, ESPN reports. “You're not going to see Roger [Federer] or Rafa [Nadal] playing on a court like that.”

Kyrgios’ suspension started when he sledged Stan Wawrinka in August at the Montreal Masters, where a courtside microphone picked up the Aussie youngster's revelation that his fellow Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis had been with the Swiss’ girlfriend. Kyrgios was then fined a total of US$12,500 (AU$17,280.71) the next day by the ATP, leading to his ban from tournaments, as sanctioned by the governing body.

Meanwhile, Australia’s tennis great, Rod Laver, urged Kyrgios to control his on-court emotions over reports of the latter’s recent controversies. Laver, who attended the Australian Open tournament launch in Shanghai on Tuesday, believes the enigmatic tennis pro has what it takes to be a champion if he could let go of his tennis game antics.

“He’s [Kyrgios] playing at a level that is highly competitive and he thinks he should be winning a lot of points that maybe he’s not and so he gets angry,” Laver said, reports Fox Sports. “He gets angry at the system and so he’s got to learn to control that and control his own game, that’s the main thing.”

Kyrgios will play world No. 6 Kei Nishikori of Japan in the second round of the eighth ATP Masters 1000 tournament this season.

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