Kyrgios’ Twitter jibe goes down poorly

Nick Kyrgios has copped his share of match fines but his willingness to jokingly stick the boot into others over on-court misbehaviour may have landed him an adversary.

The in-form Australian was quick to weigh in after Gastao Elias drew a chair umpire’s ire when the Portuguese hit a ball into the crowd in frustration at the Miami Open.

“Fine him. We can’t be having this behaviour on tour,” Kyrgios tweeted, presumably tongue-in-cheek.

Elias did not take kindly to the barb, replying: “Leave the people in charge to decide, I don’t think you’re the right person to do so.”

It prompted a response from Kyrgios: “Ease up champ, have a safe flight home.”

Elias’ comment alludes to Kyrgios’ history, in particular when he was fined more than $50,000 and banned for eight weeks for unprofessional behaviour at last year’s Shanghai Masters.

It’s not the first time Kyrgios has chimed in with penalty suggestions for misconduct.

After Novak Djokovic escaped with a fine after hitting a spectator with a tennis ball in January, Kyrgios tweeted: “I would’ve been defaulted and suspended until 2025.”

On Thursday (Friday AEDT), world No.16 Kyrgios warmed up for his Miami Open campaign with an entertaining first-round doubles match with countryman Matt Reid.

The Australian wildcards were leading Rohan Bopanna and Pablo Cuevas 7-5 2-1 (40-30) when rain suspended play for the night.

After enjoying a first-round bye, Kyrgios will begin his singles campaign against Damir Dzumhur.

He has reached at least the quarter-finals in his past three ATP events, twice scoring wins over world No.2 Djokovic.

His form is in stark contrast to compatriot Bernard Tomic, whose troubles continued when he was forced to withdraw from his scheduled first-round match in Miami with a back injury.

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