Kyrgios fined $16,500 for behavior at Shanghai Masters

SHANGHAI (AP) - Nick Kyrgios will have to pay $16,500 in fines for his bizarre actions at the Shanghai Masters.

The Australian tennis player received one of the largest fines of his career on Thursday for his lack of effort and argumentative behavior during his second-round match. He was fined the maximum $10,000 for showing a "lack of best efforts" in the match, $5,000 for verbal abuse of a spectator, and $1,500 for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Kyrgios rushed through his 6-3, 6-1 loss to German qualifier Mischa Zverev, failing to put any speed on some serves and hitting erratically on his groundstrokes. At one point, he walked toward his chair after floating a serve across the net without even waiting for Zverev's return.

Late in the match, Kyrgios also responded angrily to a fan who criticized him by shouting back, "You want to come here and play?"

He was booed and jeered several times.

The fiery Kyrgios is known for his on-court tirades and frequent battles with umpires and fans. Last year, he also insulted a player, Stan Wawrinka, during a match in Montreal.

Kyrgios received $12,500 in fines for his behavior in that match, as well as a possible 28-day suspension and a further $25,000 fine if he picked up any other major offenses over the following six months. That probation period ended in February.

Top-ranked Novak Djokovic said on Thursday that Kyrgios has some "life lessons to learn."

"Not many great things are spoken about him lately," Djokovic said. "I'm sorry to hear that, because I share the opinion of many players and many people in the tennis world that he's one of the greatest talents the game has seen lately."

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This story has been corrected to change day from Friday to Thursday.