Nick Kyrgios continued his feud with Irish umpire Fergus Murphy during his second-round loss to Karen Khachanov at the Cincinnati Masters, loudly abusing the official before leaving the court to smash some rackets.
The Australian faces a heavy sanction from the ATP after clashing with on-court officials for the second time in as many weeks and with Murphy for the second time this month as his frustration mounted during his 6-7(3) 7-6(4) 6-2 loss.
Kyrgios confronted Murphy late in the second set and accused him of starting the shot clock too early. He was ultimately issued a point penalty at the end of the second set tiebreak after insulting the Dublin-born umpire using an expletive.
The unseeded 24-year-old then left the court for what he deemed a bathroom break, despite protests from Murphy, and television pictures showed him smashing his rackets in a tunnel.
Kyrgios, who left the court without shaking Murphy's hand, clashed with the Irish official two weeks ago at the Washington Open, which he went on to win, and also had a run-in with another umpire over a towel last week in Montreal.
Murphy was also the subject of an expletive-ridden rant from Kyrgios at the Queen's Club Wimbledon warm-up tournament in June.
