New York: Nick Kyrgios is on court and pushing to join at least two other male compatriots in the US Open third round, but the Australian No.1 was involved in another clash with tennis officialdom even before his second round match began on Thursday.
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The 24-year-old is playing French qualifier Antoine Hoang in the final match of the day session on the grandstand court at Flushing Meadows, taking the first set 6-4 with a minimum of fuss.
However, the Australian was taken to task during the warm-up for wearing a shirt that displayed the following words in bold underneath the collar: "JUST DO YOU."
After the chair umpire appeared to tell Kyrgios that the collar was a breach of attire rules, it infuriated the 28th seed.
A second official, believed to be the court supervisor, came onto the court.
"I'm not going to play until I see the rule," Kyrgios said.
After a brief discussion, the match began on time.
Kyrgios' tennis season during the American hardcourt swing has been beset by controversy, copping a massive $US113,000 ($A168,000) fine for an epic meltdown at the Cincinatti Masters for various breaches of the rules.
On Wednesday this week, Kyrgios back-tracked from his claims that the governing body of men's tennis is corrupt - made in the aftermath of his first-round win - as the Association of Tennis Professionals launched an inquiry with the threat of suspension still hovering over him.
Fresh off a drama-laden, straight-sets victory over American Steve Johnson in New York, Kyrgios was speaking for the first time about that hefty fine when he uttered his sensational accusation against the ATP.
"The ATP is pretty corrupt anyway. I'm not fussed about it at all," Kyrgios told reporters after his late-finishing match on Louis Armstrong Stadium.
"I was fined 113,000 K for what? Why are we talking about something that happened three weeks ago when I just chopped up someone first round of a US Open?"
The following morning, however, Kyrgios moved to clarify his comments - accusing the ATP of "double standards" rather than "corruption".
SMH/The Age
