Australian Nick Kyrgios crashed out of the Shanghai Masters and appeared to give up during a 6-3 6-1 defeat to qualifier Mischa Zverev.
Kyrgios, 21, had said he was “bored” after a first-round victory over Sam Querrey, which followed a run to the Japan Open title last week.
WATCH: @NickKyrgios throws game in bizarre Shanghai Masters exit. More here: https://t.co/WjmBNbDJ0n #SSNHQ https://t.co/Vk93AuRRhy
— Sky Sports News HQ (@SkySportsNewsHQ) October 12, 2016
But now Kyrgios could face punishment after his antics against world number 110 Zverev, as he was seen to float a serve tamely over the net and walk out of points before they were over.
The 12th seed dropped serve in the opening game of the match, and then twice again as the first set slipped away in 27 minutes.
In the second set, Kyrgios lost serve twice to trail 5-1, before the German, ranked 110 in the world, wrapped up victory.
The Association of Tennis Professionals’ rules state that any player failing to put in ‘best efforts’ in a match can be fined up to 10,000 US dollars (£8,000) for each violation.
Footage of Kyrgios’ behaviour went viral online and across social media, with one Australian bookmaker offering to refund losing bets.
Not good enough today on many levels, I'm better than that. I can go on about excuses but there are none. Sorry #StillAWorkInProgress 🙏🏽😢😞
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) October 12, 2016
Kyrgios later apologised for his performance in a post on Twitter, writing: “Not good enough today on many levels, I’m better than that. I can go on about excuses but there are none. Sorry #StillAWorkInProgress.”
During the first set, Kyrgios was booed by the crowd as he walked off the court when failing to face a return from Zverev following his own tame serve to trail 4-1.
Sitting in his chair, the world number 14 became involved in a heated exchange with the umpire, Ali Nili.
Kyrgios was told: “Nick, you can’t play like that, okay?… It is just not professional. I am not saying if he doesn’t like it, it is just the rules don’t allow that… You can’t do that. It is a professional tournament and we have to act professional and play with your best effort the whole time.”
In the second set, when facing game point at 1-1, Kyrgios started to walk off before Zverev’s serve had landed in his side of the court.
Later, when Zverev served at 5-1, the Australian responded to heckling from the crowd, before at 0-40 down, Kyrgios chipped up a return which allowed the German to put away match point.
At Wimbledon 2015, Kyrgios suffered a similar on-court meltdown when losing to Richard Gasquet.
Elsewhere in Wednesday’s early matches at the the Shanghai Masters, Stan Wawrinka saw off Great Britain’s Kyle Edmund as the Swiss number three seed progressed 6-3 6-4.
Fifth-seeded Canadian Milos Raonic is also through after a 6-2 6-4 win over Italy’s Paolo Lorenzi.
Tomas Berdych, seeded seven, is out, following a 7-6 (7/4) 7-6 (7/1) defeat by Marcel Granollers of Spain.
David Goffin, the 11th seed from Belgium, beat Benoit Paire of France 6-1 7-6 (7/0).
Canadian Vasek Pospisil set up a clash with top seed Novak Djokovic in the last 16 as he beat Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov, who reached the final of the China Open, 7-5 7-6 (7/2).
There was a shock at the start of the evening matches, with number four seed Rafael Nadal beaten 6-3 7-6 (7/3) by Viktor Troicki of Serbia, ranked 31 in the world.
Britain’s Andy Murray, the number two seed, coasted through to the last 16 after a 6-3 6-2 win over American Steve Johnson to continue his momentum from last week’s China Open triumph.
Next up for Murray will be Lucas Pouille after the French 13th seed beat Nicolas Almagro 6-4 7-6 (12/10).
In his post-match courtside interview, Murray was asked about Kyrgios’ controversial behaviour.
The world number two said: “I did not see the (Kyrgios) match today, I have heard a bit about it.
“Nick will be disappointed obviously, to have performed like that.
“I know he likes tennis, he knows a lot about the game.
“He had a great week last week and it is not easy to back it up in a different city the following week if you are feeling a bit tired and jaded.
“But obviously you have to give your best effort of what you have on that day, that is your job as a professional athlete.
“If you are feeling sick, maybe you are not going to play well or perform as good, but you have to give your best with what you have on the day.”
Murray added on Sky Sport 2: “That is something I have been trying to do in the last few years of my career, accepting when you are not feeling good, maybe a little bit stiff or sore, or a little bit down, you just have to try to push through it.
“You feel much better after the matches after that, if you go out and don’t give your best, then it is tough to take that night, you feel pretty down about it.”
