Roger Federer on Nick Kyrgios: “I Don’t Think He Should Be Suspended”

Roger Federer is of the opinion that Nick Kyrgios should not be suspended from the ATP tour in spite of his furious meltdown at the Italian Open 2019.

The incident happened when Nick Kyrgios was facing Casper Ruud in the second round of the Italian Open 2019. Kyrgios was penalised for his unsportsmanlike conduct. He was already handed over with warning of the code of conduct, earlier in the match. He was penalised with a game after the second warning.

This prompted Nick Kyrgios to smash his racket into the court and kicked the water bottle. He did not stop there as he hurled up the chair to the centre of the court. The umpire called the tournament referee following the incident but Kyrgios had already packed up his bag and started shaking hands with Ruud and the chair umpire. The umpire was forced to disqualify Nick Kyrgios as he defaulted. Kyrgios lost the match 6-3, 6-7, 2-1.

He did not speak to the media following his outburst on the court. However, he took the social media platform to jot down his emotions. He wrote on Instagram, “Very eventful day to say the least. Emotions got the better of me and I just wanted to say that the atmosphere was crazy out there today, just super unfortunate that it had to end in default. Sorry Roma, see you again, maybe.”

In a post-match interview, Roger Federer spoke about the latest outburst of Kyrgios on the court. The 20-time grand slam champion believes that his actions were not enough for a suspension. Roger Federer feels that Kyrgios has already been given a suitable punishment.

He said, “He walked off the court. What did he do? Did he hurt a chair? That’s not enough for me.”

Roger Federer further added that there’s no point in suspending the Australian. He said, “A zero pointer, fine, all this stuff is already tough enough. He knows it’s a mistake what happened.”

“I don’t know if he’s on probation or not from his Shanghai thing. If that’s the case, then obviously you can maybe look into it. If that’s run its course, I don’t think he should be suspended, ” Roger Federer added, referring to an incident at Shanghai Masters, last year.

Nick Kyrgios was involved in a lengthy argument with the chair umpire during his first-round defeat at the Shanghai Masters 2018.

Earlier Casper Ruud had said in a statement that he should be given severe punishment. He said,  “I’m sure I’m not the only one who thinks he should be suspended for at least half a year so that maybe he can change.”