Andy Murray is "not convinced" hefty fines will curb Nick Kyrgios' controversial on-court behaviour and instead called on the ATP to give the Australian more help.
Kyrgios was fined $16,500 for breaking the ATP's Code of Conduct during his listless second-round defeat to Mischa Zverev at the Shanghai Masters: he was given a maximum $10,000 fine for "lack of best efforts" as well as a $5,000 fine for verbal abuse towards a spectator and a $1,500 fine for unsportsmanlike conduct.
It is not the first time Kyrgios has courted controversy -- nor the first time he has been fined for his actions -- but Murray hopes the troubled youngster is offered more protection.
"Whether a fine is the best way to discipline young players, I don't know. I don't know if that stops that happening again. I'm not convinced about that," Murray told British newspapers after his 6-1, 6-3 victory over Lucas Pouille in Shanghai.
"I think sometimes players do need protecting as well. Sometimes he goes into press and says things he regrets. In those situations he maybe needs to be guided a little bit better and I'm sure he will learn from that.
"I chat to him about all sorts of things, tennis and sport, basketball. If he ever wanted to talk to me or ask me anything, I would obviously be open to that. You don't want to see young guys who are in the spotlight, struggling and making mistakes, doing things that ultimately hurt them.
"When he's on his game, he's very exciting and can play all the shots, he's incredibly talented. It's not easy being in the spotlight at such a young age and not everybody deals with it as well as some of the guys do. Some players love it, some players struggle to deal with the pressure.
"When I was very young, I struggled with it massively. In those situations he maybe needs to be guided a little bit better and I'm sure he will learn from this. We don't always talk about it when we're that age.
"Sometimes the mental health of players is not really discussed because we're supposed to be mentally strong. If you are seen to be talking about feelings or not believing in yourself or struggling to cope with pressure, that's seen as a negative."