Nick Kyrgios claimed he had no devotion to tennis and probably never would after completing a "diabolical" grand slam season with a drama-charged first-round US Open defeat.
Kyrgios complained of a "dead" shoulder during his 6-3 1-6 6-4 6-1 loss to fellow Australian John Millman before revealing far deeper concerns during an extraordinary post-match press conference.
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'I'm not dedicated to the game': Kyrgios
After being knocked out of the US Open in the first round, the injured Australian tennis star has hinted at potentially parting ways with his coach.
Shattered by his latest flop, the tempestuous talent admitted his coach deserved better when asked if he would continue working with Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean beyond the Open.
"I don't know, honestly. I'm not good enough for him," Kyrgios said.
"He's very dedicated. He's an unbelievable coach. He probably deserves a player that is probably more dedicated to the game than I am. He deserves a better athlete than me.
"I'm not dedicated to the game at all.
"He's helped me a lot, especially with the training, in training sessions, but there are players out there that are more dedicated, that want to get better, that strive to get better every day, (do the) the one-percenters. I'm not that guy."
After winning an unprecedented 20 from 20 matches against lower-ranked or unseeded rivals at grand slams, Kyrgios has since suffered upset losses at five straight majors.
His troubles have coincided with the surfacing of a hip injury at last year's US Open when he retired mid-match in the third round before the same issue forced him to abandon his Wimbledon campaign.
Kyrgios said his latest shoulder problem, which first emerged early in the third set against Millman, came out of the blue.
"I have had a diabolical year at these slams. It doesn't surprise me," he said.
"It's just the story of my career, really. I will have good weeks; I'll have bad weeks. It's just a roller-coaster."
The world No.17 enjoyed one of his best weeks a fortnight ago when he reached his first Masters 1000 final in Cincinnati.
Now he feels exasperated.
"In Cincinnati, I was not doing anything different. I was probably less dedicated than I was this week," Kyrgios said.
"I was playing basketball at Lifetime Fitness every day for two hours. Like I played an hour of basketball before I played David Ferrer in the semi-final.
"I was going to ice cream, like this Graeter's place getting a milkshake every day. I was less dedicated.
"And this week I was dedicated, and my shoulder starts hurting. I don't know."
Kyrgios's premature exit follows a first-round loss at Wimbledon and second- round defeats in Paris and Melbourne.
"I don't know. I don't know. I keep letting people down," he said.
Despite his abject disappointment, Kyrgios said he planned to press ahead with plans to lead Australia into battle against Belgium in the Davis Cup semi-finals this month in Brussels.
Early on in the match, Kyrgios repeatedly berated his courtside box for apparently not being vocal enough in their support of him.
But that proved the least of his concerns when, first, his shoulder began to fail him and then officials turned on the temperamental world No.17.
Kyrgios called for the trainer during the second game of the third set, at one point even asking a ball boy to stretch out his right arm.
He needed a medical time-out at the ensuing changeover.
"I wasn't feeling it at all and then on one serve I lost power in my arm. Just on my serve," Kyrgios complained.
"One serve, then completely dead. It's so dead and numb. It's incredibly weak.
"It's just so annoying."
He must have felt the world was against him when umpire Carlos Ramos issued a code violation against him after a linesman reported the 22-year-old swearing.
Strictly, he did but the penalty seemed farcically harsh, with Kyrgios merely remonstrating with himself in exasperation on his way to a changeover.
"I didn't swear. You can't give me a code. You don't even know what I said," Kyrgios said.
Ramos said he believed Kyrgios.
"But I need to believe him too," the umpire said. "I cannot repeat what he said you said."
"Man, this is ridiculous. What is this? This is a joke," Kyrgios added before going on to drop serve again to hand Millman a two-sets-to-one advantage.
With full power, Kyrgios promptly obliterated his racquet, drawing a second code violation and a mandatory point penalty to start the fourth set.
Living on the edge, Kyrgios saved a series of break points in his first service game of the set.
The writing was on the wall when Millman eventually rifled a backhand past his half-hearted countryman to forge ahead 2-0.
There was no way back as Kyrgios surrendered the match after two hours and 15 minutes.
"It's a victory, but a hollow victory," Millman said.
"I know in the back on my mind his shoulder deteriorated at the match went on.
"He's a teammate. I feel for him. I really do."
AAP