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The Australian had delighted fans with some
superb tennis en route to the title in Mexico last year but it
was a different story on Tuesday when he was forced to quit the
first-round clash after losing the opening set 6-3.
The 24-year-old, who was on court for only 32 minutes, later
vented his anger in an expletive-laden news conference.
"I'm not healthy, I tried to come here, I tried to play,"
Kyrgios told reporters.
"I've been doing media for the tournament, been helping out. I
tried to give the fans a little bit of tennis. And their
disrespect?"
Kyrgios, placed on probation by the governing body of men's
tennis over his behavior last year, had shown a different side
to his character in the lead up to this year's Australian Open.
He had called on the tennis world to help the victims of
Australia's bushfire crisis and triggered an appeal that raised
millions of dollars.
his exit robs the tournament of a potential blockbuster clash
with Rafa Nadal, who advanced with a 6-3 6-2 win over fellow
Spaniard Pablo Andujar.
Second seed Alexander Zverev moved past qualifier Jason Jung
7-6(6) 6-1 to reach the second round.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter
Rutherford)
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