Ryan Harrison Threatened Thanasi Kokkinakis During Cincinnati Qualifying Last Night [Video]
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Amid the Nick Kyrgios controversy, hot-headed American Ryan Harrison had a go against Kyrgios’s countryman and friend Thanasi Kokkinkais last night during thier first round qualifying match at the Cincinnati Masters.
Harrison, who lost the match 75, 36, 76, got so enraged chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani and an ATP supervisor had to step in and prevent a fight.
After an exchange of words after the first set, things really escalated at the end of the match.
These kids, they’ve got to get under control,” Harrison said to Lahyani, but clearly meaning Kokkinakis to hear. “They’re going to get hurt.”
He then made his first direct reference to the events of Montreal.
“”He’s 19,” Harrison said of Kokkinakis. “If he wants to get into it, I will bury him. Wawrinka should’ve decked Kyrgios, and I should deck that kid.”
Later, Harrison tried to clear things up, telling Fox Sports Australia, ”I knew at 17, 18, 19 that there was just a line that you didn’t cross,” Harrison said. “And you certainly didn’t try to seek after guys the way that Thanasi kind of sought after me for an altercation after the match.”
He added, “Personally, I don’t think that Thanasi is a bad guy,” Harrison said. “I don’t think that he has ever done anything to insinuate that he would ever make a comment like that during a match, referring to the one that Nick made. I don’t think that Thanasi is in danger of being like that right now. I don’t think that he wants that.”
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