ATP Masters Cincinnati: Nick Kyrgios with wildcard - and some memories
Nick Kyrgios receives a wildcard for the ATP Masters tournament in Cincinnati (from August 15).
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Jul 26, 2022, 06:52 am
Kyrgios will thus complete a reasonably tight program in the run-up to the US Open. This week he's in Atlanta, next week in Washington. However, he is not registered in Montreal.
But then in Cincinnati, where he will receive a wildcard, as the tournament organizers confirmed on Monday.
And the Australian has some memorable memories of Cincinnati (and Cincinnati, I'm sure, of him, too).
In 2017, Kyrgios reached the final here (his first at Masters level), including after beating top seed Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals. In the final itself, Kyrgios was then defeated by Grigor Dimitrov. It has so far remained Kyrgios' only endgame in 1000 events.
Kyrgios secretly hacks up two thugs
And in 2019, at his last Cincinnati appearance: he picked up the record fine of 113,000 euros in his opening match against Karen Khachanov.
Referee Fergus Murphy in particular was the focus of Kyrgios' tirades at the time. According to Kyrgios' taste, he started the shot clock too quickly. After the match, Kyrgios also spat in the direction of the referee and called him a "tool".
Kyrgios' action was particularly memorable when he demanded a toilet break after losing the second set and marched away without permission. He also did this with two intact racquets, which he chopped up and brought back onto the pitch. TV footage then showed Kyrgios dismantling them in the catacombs.
Will Kyrgios show his better side this year? One can be curious. After all, it starts this year under the label "Wimbledon finalist".
Of course, the competition in Cincinnati is tough. As of now, the entire top 40 have registered.