Nick Kyrgios has bowed out of the Miami Open after dropping a one-set lead to Croatian Borna Coric, struggling to stay at his peak with obvious health concerns.
The Australian's movement around the court was hampered and it saw him face a 3-1 deficit early in the first set.
But the 23-year-old fought hard to take the lead, pulling out an ''outrageous'' tweener shot that changed the course of the match.
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Kyrgios seemingly gave up the point after a lazy return shot at the net that was perfectly read by Coric, but the Croatian could only watch on in appreciation when his opponent delivered the unthinkable.
Simply INCREDIBLE!🔥
— ATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) March 26, 2019
Outrageous skill from @NickKyrgios at the #MiamiOpen 👏
🎥: @TennisTV pic.twitter.com/3JNNumcg10
The enigmatic Australian claimed five of the next six games, but his fitness woes continued to plague him as he fought with his body throughout the match.
Frustration kicked in as he fell behind 4-2 in the second set, smashing his racquest twice before presenting it to a fan in a Celtics jersey.
"I was just folding it up for him,'' Kyrgios told the chair umpire.
Kyrgios was then broken in the fifth game of the third set but had a chance to hit straight back with Coric on the ropes at 0-40, but failed to convert his last break point chance.
Having been heckled by a fan in his previous encounter against Dušan Lajović, the Miami crowd was again hunting for a reaction with one spectator disrupting him during a serve.
He was handed a point penalty and later expressed his disappointment in umpire Gianluca Moscarella.
''Good job, well done. You deserve encouragement. You controlled the environment well. Honest feedback, you've done a terrible job,'' he said.
Kyrgios later explained his actions.
"They paid money to see me play and they just screamed out ridiculous things, and I'm just not going to take it anymore,'' he said.
''I played for 2 hours and 20 minutes, and the guy yells at me 'Play some tennis!' I'm not going to take it, so I just said F you to him. Probably not needed, but at that time I'd been competing and in the heat of the moment, and it's not what you want to hear."
