Nick Kyrgios storms out at Shanghai Masters

Australian firebrand Nick Kyrgios apologised and said he had been unwell after he stormed off court to loud boos midway through his opening match at the Shanghai Masters yesterday. Kyrgios, 22, issued a statement following his abrupt exit after losing the first set 7/5 on a tie break to the American Steve Johnson, having been docked a point for the second match running because of his conduct.

Nick Kyrgios

Nick gutted
The ATP Tour is investigating and Kyrgios, similarly hit with a point penalty in losing the China Open final to Rafael Nadal on Sunday, said he was "gutted" to retire against Johnson. A member of Kyrgios' coaching team told AFP in Shanghai - where a year ago he was accused of "tanking" in defeat and consequently suspended - that the world-ranked 21 had injured his shoulder.

Hours later Kyrgios, whose undoubted talent has often been betrayed by his quickfire temper, made a statement on Twitter apologising and saying he was gutted. "I've been battling a stomach bug for the past 24 hours and I tried to be ready but I was really struggling on the court, which I think was pretty evident from the first point," he wrote. "My shoulder started to hurt in the practice, which didn't help either, and once I lost the first set I was just not strong enough to continue because I've not eaten much the past 24 hours."

Venus cruises
Meanwhile, Venus Williams raced through her opening match in the WTA Hong Kong Open yesterday with a 6-2, 6-2 win against Risa Ozaki. The world number five took just 74 minutes to see off Japan's Ozaki in hot and humid conditions in Victoria Park.