Bernard Tomic and Nick Kyrgios are nothing if not reliably unreliable. The pair have found trouble in the "unbearable" 27 degree heat of Acapulco, with a listless Tomic withdrawing from a match then Kyrgios giving a spectator both barrels.
Tomic once again produced a questionable display as he retired from his clash against American Donald Young in the Mexican resort town. After losing the first set in a tiebreaker, he cited "unbearable"Â heat before ending the clash, despite reports of pleasant playing conditions.
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Even if the temperatures were in the 30s, it should be nothing new for Tomic, who hails from Queensland's Gold Coast and regularly plays in draining conditions throughout the Australian summer.
He wasn't given any attention on the court and managed to refresh himself enough to return to the court just hours later when he partnered Italy's Paolo Lorenzi in the doubles draw, which they went on to lose.
Tomic was due to meet countryman Kyrgios in the second round. And while Kyrgios was safely through 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, his clash against Israeli Dudi Sela saw him struggle with an eye injury before a run-in with a spectator.
In the second set, Kyrgios paused before a second serve and was reported to have told one of Sela's fans to "shut the f--- up".Â
The umpire was forced to intervene after the match as Sela confronted Kyrgios before the pair appeared to patch up their differences before they left the court.
While Kyrgios can at least continue in the tournament, there will be fresh questions about Tomic and how much he relishes playing the game that has earned him almost $5 million since he turned professional in 2008.
The former world No.17 has now lost three consecutive first round matches and has plummeted down the world rankings to No.41 ahead of the claycourt swing heading towards the French Open.
And he's become one of the most prolific retirees on the ATP Tour, finishing early during four fixtures in 2016. He also holds the record for the fastest loss in Tour history when he went down to Finnish journeyman Jarkko Nieminen in just 28 minutes in 2014.
In an interview with Fairfax Media before the Australian Open, Tomic admitted his love of the game had wavered and he now primarily saw tennis as a business proposition to help set him up for a cosy retirement.
"I didn't come up with the most amount of money in my life, so I think making all that at a young age has obviously turned my head around a bit. I still respect tennis 100 per cent ... but I also have to respect what's around it and what can set me up for life.
"So that's my job. My job is to play tennis until I'm done, I've had enough and until I've made enough money."
Novak Djokovic enjoyed a first-up win, downing Slovakia's Martin Klizan 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) in his first match since a shock second-round loss in the Australian Open in January.
Victory in his next match paves the way for a possible quarter-final against Kyrgios. Earlier, third-seeded Marin Cilic reached the second round with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 win over Alexandr Dolgopolov.
Second seed Rafael Nadal beat Mischa Zverev 6-4, 6-3.
- with AAP
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