For someone with a mouth on him, Nick Kyrgios went quietly in his opening round match at the Western & Southern Open, losing to Richard Gasquet 6-2, 61.

You’ll recall that Gasquet was Kyrgios’ opponent during Socks-gate at Wimbledon when he nonchalantly decided to change his socks in the middle of the action. But that was nothing compared to going all “Scarlet Letter” on Stan Wawrinka’s girlfriend at the Rogers Cup in Montreal. (Between that and Nole complaining about a fan smoking weed and making him dizzy, the Rogers Cup was certainly a hot time in the old town.)

I hope Kyrgios’ early exit in Mason, Ohio impressed on him the uselessness of a poisonous attitude toward others.

I’ve been on the receiving end of such toxicity and I can say that it’s a terrible distraction that’s counterproductive. But it cuts both ways. The poison infects the verbal abuser as much as the abused.

It’s time for Kyrgios to grow up and focus on his game. He won’t be 20 forever.