“Get outta here, Nick Kyrgios,” a commentator fired off in Miami as the Australian bad boy of tennis exited the ATP 1000 event in Florida on Tuesday.
But not before Kyrgios claimed he was “bored”, started mimicking Roger Federer and then blew up at an umpire as he fell to 11th-seeded Croatian Borna Coric 4-6 6-3 6-2.
Kyrgios now faces a fine and further sanctions after a clash with umpire Gianluca Moscarella when he was docked a point for telling a fan “f**k you man”.
https://youtu.be/d-k-xzg3X2E
He also destroyed two rackets in a tempestuous, and at times, controversial display which left him fuming at the end.
Having already been warned for his behaviour, Kyrgios shook left hands with the official at the changeover before he continued to complain about him.
“Really good job. Well done,” he said.
“You’ve controlled the environment really, really well.”
Kyrgios said his earlier complaints to the umpire about crowd disturbances had fallen on deaf ears.
“You’ve done nothing to keep the fans from yelling out,” he said.
Moscarella said the fans were just “enjoying themselves”.
But Kyrgios didn’t give up – after the game he continued his tirade, taking aim at the courtside hecklers.
“They paid money to see me play and they just screamed out ridiculous things, and I’m just not going to take it anymore,” Kyrgios said.
“I played for two 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.”
In other games The giant-killing run of Kyrgios’s countryman Jordan Thompson came to an end with a 7-5 7-5 loss to South African Kevin Anderson.
Top seed Novak Djokovic was upset by Roberto Bautista Agut 1-6 7-5 6-3.
Others to progress to the quarter-finals were defending champion John Isner and Frances Tiafoe, 18-year-old qualifier Felix Auger-Aliassime and fellow Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov.
Federer’s scheduled match against Daniil Medvedev was postponed because of rain.