Nick Kyrgios was booed off court after a controversial showing that prompted tennis legend John McEnroe to describe the Australian's performance as a black eye for the sport.
Kyrgios' mental demons resurfaced at Melbourne Park on Wednesday night, with accusations of tanking rearing its ugly head after his body shut down on him in the five set loss to Andreas Seppi on Hisense Arena.
The 21-year-old has only just come back from a suspension for tanking at the Shanghai Masters last October, and was once again forced to answer accusations he didn't give his best during his 6-1, 7-6 (7-1), 4-6, 2-6, 8-10 loss.
McEnroe took aim at the world No.14 in ESPN's broadcast, labelling the performance as a "black eye for the sport".
"It's OK to show your emotions and I'd like to see that in a one-on-one game when you're out there by yourself," McEnroe said.
"But when he goes through those periods when he's not competing it's just a black eye for the sport. And it's a black eye for him."
Kyrgios wasn't impressed when informed of McEnroe's comments after the match, admitting his body was prohibiting him from giving his best.
"Well, my body was sore. I was hurting," Kyrgios said.
"I mean, John McEnroe, was it John McEnroe? Good on him. Great career. Good on him."
When pressed on the severity of his injury, Kyrgios replied: "I don't know, mate. Ask Johnny Mac. He knows everything."
The seven-time grand slam champion has regularly voiced his frustration over Kyrgios' behaviour and didn't miss when he attacked the Australian on Wednesday.
"I don't mind, obviously if you know my history or career at all, someone who's emotional and goes too far at times and say the wrong things," McEnroe said.
"I don't condone it, but I certainly understand it better than almost anyone who can talk about tennis. What I don't understand and don't accept, is when he starts going into the tank and he stops trying and giving 100 per cent.
"I would call it overall a damn shame, because I think he's the most talented guy in the world, maybe aged 29 or under. He could be the best player in the world, but mentally he's about 200 in the world."
Kyrgios admitted he was still seeing a sports psychologist as requested by the ATP after his Shanghai meltdown, seeing the irony in the situation by saying: "It's going very well".
Pressed on the frequency of those sessions, Kyrgios said: "Johnny Mac will know, mate. Just talk to him. He knows everything".
Kyrgios was emotional when reflecting on his disappointing loss, especially when referring to the regret of targeting his box.
He had to endure being booed off Hisense Arena by portions of the crowd, admitting it was tough to handle the jeers from his home followers.
"Obviously it's not the greatest thing to hear," Kyrgios said.
"I didn't have the best preparation coming into the Australian Open. Pretty banged up, my body. You know, I don't even know what the score was in the end. Was it 10-8? 10-8 in the fifth, getting booed off, definitely not the best feeling."
