Nick Kyrgios pushed Juan Martin Del Potro to two tiebreaks, and got heated with match officials, but fell to a frustrating last-16 defeat at the Cincinnati Open.
15th-seed Kyrgios sent down 29 aces in his 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (8-6) 2-6 defeat to World No. 3 Del Potro on Saturday morning (AEST).
Juan is moving on…
— Western & Southern Open (@CincyTennis) August 17, 2018
@depotrojuan is through to his *THIRD* QF here, besting Nick Kyrgios 7-6(4) 6-7(6) 6-2. Next up: David Goffin.#CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/Q2C1xHIvAQ
The big Argentine sent down 19 aces of his own against Kyrgios in a match that lasted two hours and 15 minutes.
Kyrgios now risks dropping to World No. 30 on Monday, which would be his lowest ranking in two-and-a-half years.
MORE: Kyrgios admits to tanking during on-court meltdown | Kyrgios lights up Cincinnati with audacious tweener after forgetting shoes
On serve in a tense first set, the Aussie let his emotions get the better of him for a moment as he teed off at a line judge and chair umpire Adel Nour.
Nour asked Kyrgios if he had a problem with the match officiating, but was only told to "shut up" in reply.
A late out call from a line judge off a Del Potro forehand that went long earned Kyrgios' ire.
The Australian later labelled a decision "absolute bulls**t" before accusing Nour of affecting the outcome of the match.
"Do you realise you are costing people hundreds of thousands of dollars on stupid calls like this?" Kyrgios said.
"We don’t play for free."
Kyrgios admitted he had tanked in the second set of his second round clash against Borna Coric during the week. However, the Aussie finished off that match with a 7-6 0-6 6-3 win.
However, when Kyrgios again tanked, this time during one of Del Potro’s service games, it looked as though the Australian would fall away.
Kyrgios, though, fought back and pushed Del Potro all the way in the marathon, and won the second set in a tiebreak to force a decider.
Del Potro - the 2009 US Open champion - was too good in the end, winning the final set 6-2 to set up a quarter-final clash with David Goffin.
Goffin took down sixth seed and Wimbledon finalist Kevin Anderson 6-2 6-4 in 76 minutes.
First of many? We hope! 🙏@delpotrojuan takes round 1, defeating Nick Kyrgios 7-6(4) 6-7(6) 6-2 to reach #CincyTennis quarter-finals. pic.twitter.com/GLu6cMpglV
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 17, 2018
The @CincyTennis QFs are set (finally😂):
— ATP World Tour (@ATPWorldTour) August 17, 2018
🇷🇸 N. Djokovic v. 🇨🇦 M. Raonic
🇨🇭 R. Federer v. 🇨🇭S. Wawrinka
🇪🇸 P. Carreno Busta v. 🇭🇷 M. Cilic
🇦🇷 J.M. del Potro v. 🇧🇪 D. Goffin
Who will make the SF in Cincinnati? 🤔
Meanwhile, World No. 2 Roger Federer took down Leonardo Mayer 6-1 7-6 (8-6) in the third round.
Playing in his first tournament since Wimbledon, the Swiss ace lost just four first-serve points and didn't face a break point in the match.
Federer will face countryman Stan Wawrinka in the quarter-finals, who beat Marton Fucsovics 6-4 6-3 in their third-round match.
