CINCINNATI: Nick Kyrgios continued his feud with umpire Fergus Murphy during his second-round defeat to Karen Khachanov at the Cincinnati Masters on Wednesday, 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), 7-6 (7-4), 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 Irish 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.

Russian eighth seed Khachanov kept his own cool throughout the histrionics and ended the match by winning three straight games to set up a meeting with France’s Lucas Pouille for a place in the quarter-finals.

Unseeded German Jan-Lennard Struff earlier resisted a Stefanos Tsitsipas fightback and Serbian teenager Miomir Kecma­novic beat fifth seed Alexander Zverev in two big upsets.

Struff, who has yet to win an ATP singles title in his decade-long career, was on top for most of the match against the 21-year old Greek.

He served for the match in the second set but Tsitsipas managed to stay alive by taking the set on a tiebreak.

However, the German refused to give up and sealed the 6-4 6-7(5) 7-6(6) victory to set up a third round meeting with ninth-seed Daniil Medvedev, who beat France’s Benoit Paire 7-6 (7-2), 6-1.

Struff’s compatriot Zverev was less consistent as he served a career-high 20 double faults in his 6-7 (4-7), 6-2, 6-4 defeat to the 19-year-old qualifier from Belgrade.

The second youngest player in the top 100, Kecmanovic’s victory was his first against an opponent ranked in the top 10 and he is projected to advance into the top-50 next week.

Among the other surprises on Wednesday, world number five Kei Nishikori was beaten 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 by Japanese qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka, while Canadian Denis Shapovalov also lost 6-4, 6-4 to Lucas Pouille.

BARTY NAILS SHARAPOVA

Top seeded Ash Barty overcame a slow start to defeat Maria Sharapova 6-4, 6-1, while Simona Halep battled past Ekaterina Alexandrova 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 in the second round of the women’s Cincinnati event on Wednesday.

French Open champion Barty double faulted to give Sharapova a 2-1 lead in the first set and it looked like an upset could be brewing in the showdown between the two former world number ones.

But an error-prone Sharapova bowed out after she produced six double faults and squandered six of her seven break point opportunities.

Barty earned an early break in the second set when she rifled a crosscourt forehand that caught Sharapova flat footed for a 2-0 lead.

Sharapova fought hard the next game, forcing seven deuces but was unable to break and Barty cruised to the finish from there, winning 11 of the last 13 games.

Barty will next face Anett Kontaveit, who defeated Polish teenager Iga Swiatek in straight sets.

World number one Naomi Osaka improved to 4-0 lifetime against Aliaksandra Sasnovich with a 7-6 (7-3), 2-6, 6-2 win. She faces Hsieh Su-Wei in the third round.

Third seeded Karolina Pliskova crushed lucky loser Wang Yafan 6-1, 6-3 and Donna Vekic knocked out former champion Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 7-5 to set up a showdown with Venus Williams on Thursday.

Seventh seed Elina Svitolina, ninth seed Aryna Sabalenka and big-serving American Madison Keys all advanced to the third round behind straight set wins.

Svitolina set up a date with American Sofia Kenin, who beat Zarina Diyas 6-4, 6-1.

Another American, eighth seed Sloane Stephens, had a tougher match against Yulia Putintseva but prevailed 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 and will next face Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, a 4-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-2 winner over Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska.

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2019