The US Open crowd was warned to “refrain from smoking” after Australian ace Nick Kyrgios complained to the match umpire that he could smell marijuana during his second-round victory over Benjamin Bonzi on Wednesday.
Kyrgios, 27, requested that the umpire intervene in the second set, claiming he had seen and smelt a fan smoking the substance.
“You don’t even want to remind anyone not to do it?... It was f**king marijuana. Obviously I’m not going to be complaining about food stuff. Obviously not,” said the Aussie.
“When athletes are running side-to-side and they have asthma already, it’s probably not ideal.”
Umpire Jaume Campistol later issued a request to spectators at Louis Armstrong Stadium, urging them: “Ladies and gentlemen, as a courtesy to both players, please refrain yourselves from smoking around the court.”
Courtside cameramen and journalists said they could also detect the whiff of weed at Flushing Meadows.
Kyrgios, seeded 23rd in New York, wrapped up the match in four sets, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, against his gritty French rival, but was not beyond reproach for his own behavior during the contest.
The Australian was seen spitting on the court after suffering a break of serve in the third set, and unleashed a foul-mouthed rant at his box – where his girlfriend, a friend and his physio were seated - which earned him a code violation.
“Go home if you're not going to f**king support me bro,” he was quoted as shouting, adding “It’s a f**king joke. You’re not a f**king spectator, you’re not a spectator.”
Despite the outburst Kyrgios continued his fine run of recent form which has arguably seen him play the best tennis of his career.
The Australian reached a maiden Grand Slam final at Wimbledon in July, losing in four sets to Novak Djokovic, and is considered a significant contender in New York.
Next up is a third-round meeting with America’s JJ Wolf on Friday, and beyond that a potential fourth-round blockbuster against Russian world number one and defending champion Daniil Medvedev – a man whom Kyrgios defeated when they faced each other at the Canadian Open last month.