'It's disappointing': Sally Pearson blasts Nick Kyrgios after Cincinnati meltdown

Sally Pearson has hit out at Aussie tennis maverick Nick Kyrgios for his meltdown at the Cincinnati Masters last week.

The ATP whacked Kyrgios with a record fine last Thursday, docking the Aussie $US113,000 ($A167,000) after his extraordinary meltdown at the Cincinnati Masters.

The fines included five charges of unsportsmanlike conduct totalling $US85,000, $US20,000 for verbal abuse, $US5,000 for audible obscenity and $US3,000 for leaving the court without permission.

Pearson, speaking on Nine’s Sport Sunday, said it would be better if we were talking about Kyrgios’ tennis rather than his outbursts.

"I'm seeing a very frustrated athlete and I'm feeling very frustrated watching it," she said on the show.

"It's disappointing because it takes away the talk of sport. We're talking about his personality, we're talking about his attitude.

"I want to be talking about how he plays.

"We talk about Roger Federer and how he plays and how beautiful he is to watch.

"Nick Kyrgios? All we talk about is his personality and his attitude.”

Pearson went on to say he wasn’t setting a good example for young tennis fans.

"I know he can sell tickets with his attitude, but I don't know whether that's the right message to be sending to the public to be like this," she added.

"There was talk that he gave one of his racquets away to the children in the stands that was all smashed up and broken.

"What message is that sending to kids? That it's okay to do this? That it's okay to smash your racquets and you're gonna get more publicity out of this, you're gonna get more sponsorships.

"I don't know whether that's the right thing to do."

She finished claiming she would like to see more of his “good side” saying she is sure he is a “really great guy”.

Kyrgios’ ‘disgusting’ tantrum

The 24-year-old Australian won the opening set against his Russian opponent, despite foot and ankle issues, before unleashing a profanity-laced tirade at umpire Fergus Murphy, throwing his towel over a camera and forcing broadcasters of the US event to switch to an overhead view.

Kyrgios took umbrage with Murphy, who he has previous history with, over his monitoring of the shot clock and berated the Irishman for most of the match.

He became obsessed with the issue, repeatedly calling Murphy a "potato" and labelling him a "disgrace" and the "worst ref in the world".