Nick Kyrgios refuses to shake umpire's hand over missed challenge
A day after declaring he was warming back into the tennis tour after struggling with his mental health, Nick Kyrgios has won again to move into the third round at Washington.
But it ended in acrimonious circumstances as chair umpire Fergus Murphy left the Australian dumbfounded over a missed challenge.
Kyrgios breezed past 11th seed Gilles Simon 6-4 7-6 (7-5) and refused to shake the umpire’s hand after the victory.
Just seconds earlier the pair had engaged in a slanging match over a missed challenge.
Kyrgios, holding match points in a tight tiebreak challenged a Simon serve but the request was missed by Murphy.
“What are you looking at?” he asked the umpire before the next point.
Simon was made to wait for the debate to conclude to defend the match point but was unable to do so, hitting a forehand into the net to end the match.
Kyrgios shook hands with his French opponent but skipped Murphy and walked straight to his chair, only to begin airing his frustrations again soon after.
Long-term battle with umpires
All three parties were fortunate that the match ended when it did.
Earlier this year, Kyrgios was defaulted from a match in Rome after a similar spat over a linesperson’s call.
Many felt he was in the right this time but choosing to argue even after winning the match left a sour taste in the mouth of tennis fans around the world.
Umpire Fergus Murphy didn’t hear Kyrgios challenge a double fault on match point (he also raised his finger), and Kyrgios is not thrilled. Wins match a point later on a Simon error, luckily. Could have imploded. #CitiOpen
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) August 1, 2019
Kyrgios giving it to chair umpire Fergus Murphy after 5-4 in 2nd set....Upset about missed call by linesperson which he challenged and was right #ATP #CO19
— John Horn (@SportsHorn) July 31, 2019
Murphy did miss Kyrgios' challenge, but Kyrgios was too busy rambling to notice that the umpire had called the score. The person hard done by was Simon who should never have to wait that long to serve while down match point in a tiebreak. https://t.co/MFnRKX2gSu
— Tumaini Carayol (@tumcarayol) August 1, 2019
Nick Kyrgios to umpire: “You’re a potato with legs and arms.”
Kyrgios was annoyed the umpire didn’t see his call to challenge if his serve was in or not on match point. Kyrgios finishes off the match anyway, 6-4, 7-6(7-5), against Gilles Simon.— Andy Kostka (@afkostka) August 1, 2019
He couldn’t have shouted challenge louder - I heard it on the stream - pretty bad from Murphy
— Avid Tennis Fan (@avidtennisfan) August 1, 2019
The match was not the first time Kyrgios and Murphy have clashed, having argued once before at the Cincinnati Masters in 2018.
Earlier in Washington against Simon, Murphy had handed Kyrgios a point penalty following a racquet smash.
It was quickly donated to a child in the crowd.
Might want to go with a higher tension?
🤔🤔#CO19 pic.twitter.com/0opGlCx8yg— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) July 31, 2019