Upon further review, mercurial Aussie tennis star Nick Kyrgios apologizes for comments made to Stan Wawrinka Wednesday night at the Rogers Cup

MONTREAL – Nick Kyrgios arrived on site at the Rogers Cup late this morning, accompanied by manager John Morris, no doubt fully briefed on just how much negative reaction there has been in the last 12 hours to his comments towards opponent Stan Wawrinka on the stadium court Wednesday night.

Two young girls were at the entrance to Uniprix Stadium to greet him, both obliged with selfies. And then, Kyrgios was advised of the fine that will be levied upon him by the ATP for his "insulting remark".

The ATP announced the imposition of the fine earlier, adding that further details (such as the amount) would not be released until they had notified Kyrgios. It turns out they fined Kyrgios the maximum allowable under their guidelines, which is $10,000 US.

As well, they added another $2,500 US fine for unsportsmanlike conduct, related to his poor treatment of one of the ballkids during the match.

Not long after he arrived, Kyrgios issued a supremely rational, very well-written apology on Facebook:

It is a quick turnaround from Kyrgios's defiant attitude late Wednesday night in the wake of the comments, but obviously it's not that much of a surprise. The spin and damage control have begun.

While there was much speculation about what the sanction might be – as always happens on social media, some wanted him banned for life – the truth is that the ATP is rather toothless in these circumstances, partly because the players are not actual employees of the ATP, which is an association; they operate as independant contractors.

As well, the ATP has done little in other cases of comments far more egregious than the ones Kyrgios made. So there's no precedent to really let the hammer fall upon him.

The 20-year-old Aussie plays American John Isner, the No. 16 seed, on the National Bank Court later Thursday afternoon, and it will be interesting to observe the proceedings on several levels.

First, while the vast majority of the fans there likely weren't following the Twitter storm in the middle of the night, surely many will be aware of the fracas by now.

As well, it will be fascinating to see 1) if Kyrgios tempers his usual behaviour given the circumstances and 2), if he does, if he doesn't play with his usual fire, if that will affect the outcome of the match.