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Australian Open: Nick Kyrgios' emotions get the better of him again

Michael Chammas

This was Nick Kyrgios to a tee. If you had never heard of him before last night, then three hours and nine minutes inside Hisense Arena on Wednesday night would have been all you needed to learn about #NKRising.

But to understand? Well, good luck. It seems not even the wild thing himself understands what it is that makes him tick, and why all of a sudden he can just go tock.

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Kyrgios implodes as Barty and Tomic progress

Nick Kyrgios has imploded from two sets up to be knocked out of the Australian Open in day three as Ashleigh Barty and Bernard Tomic progress to the next round.

Without warning, and just as he had many believing this was a changed man, the 21-year-old imploded in front of the nation against Italian veteran Andreas Seppi and was booed off court after going down 6-1, 7-6 (7-1), 4-6, 2-6, 8-10 on Wednesday night.

He lost the unlosable. Losing his cool at his box as he voiced his frustration over the physical state of his body.

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And as his physical state deteriorated, his emotions - which only two nights earlier he spoke about the importance of controlling - got the better of him.

The world No.14 wasn't impressed. Continuously looking up at his box with a look that said "I could kill you for what you've done to me".

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He didn't echo those words, but it was pretty close to the mark.

"I didn't sign up for this shit," he screamed.

"Thanks guys".

"Yeah, great idea."

"You did this to me, you said I would be right by Monday."

You get the drift. Kyrgios was furious. His body had abandoned him but it was his mind doing all the damage yet again.

It was almost as if he had convinced himself that he needed to preserve energy in a bid to complete his goal of winning this year's Australian Open.

So when he was pushed all the way to the tie break to grab a two-set lead, something in his mindset suddenly changed.

This wasn't the way he had envisaged it would go.

Sitting inside Hisense Arena on a cold summer night, you could feel the almost instantaneous change in the atmosphere after the second set.

As they watched him take aim at his box - finding excuses for mediocrity - it reminded some of why they don't like the enigmatic Kyrgios.

For others, it only just reaffirmed their support. His crew tried all they could to help refocus him. His brother, Christos, constantly standing up trying to get his little brother to find the fight once again.

"You're a disgrace Nick," one elderly woman yelled out.

"At least if you're going to lose, lose with dignity."

But for every knocker there were 100 believers urging the Aussie to rally. At times he didn't care, hovering very close to accusations of tanking as he revived Seppi from the brink of death.

The last ditch bid to salvage victory was always going to come. He loves the show. That desperation came with the match on the line.

While the tweener he successfully pulled off with the match on the line sent the crowd into raptures, it was just yet another outburst by a frustrated athlete who knows his talent should have yielded more than it has in what was his fourth Australian Open campaign.

It was ugly. And the worst part was it could have been a lot uglier.

He got his wish and was scheduled on Hisense Arena - a crowd for the teenagers, the larrikins and the type of people who find a tweener with the game on the line worthy of a standing ovation.

On Rod Laver arena, the purists would have deemed it disrespectful. In fact, on Rod Laver arena they would have likely turned on him like they did last year when he complained about music playing in the crowd.

There is no greater threat to Kyrgios realising his potential than the man himself.

Talent worthy of a No.1. A serve that, according to statistics, is ranked among the top five of the past three decades.

Yet his mental frailties continue to haunt him and prevent him from taking the next step.

He's lost somewhere between the tough guy bravado he is trying to live up to and the emotional kid that almost broke down into tears in the press conference after the loss.

The tantrums and meltdowns act as a protection mechanism he uses to shield the pain of defeat. It's as if he would rather lose with an excuse than lose having given it his all.

It's hard not to feel sorry for him when he implodes like he did on Wednesday, but the time for excuses is almost up. Tick, tock.

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