Kyrgios crashes out of home Slam in 2nd round after blowing 2-set lead
At the Australian Open two years ago, a 19-year-old Nick Kyrgios whipped the fans in Hisense Arena into a lather as he rebounded from two sets down to stun Andreas Seppi - who was fresh off the biggest win of his career (over Roger Federer a round prior) - and advanced to the quarterfinals at his home Grand Slam. He hasn't made it that far at a major since.
On Wednesday, Seppi exacted some belated revenge, turning the tables on Kyrgios with a two-set comeback of his own to win 1-6, 6-7 (1), 6-4, 6-2, 10-8 and send the young Aussie packing in the second round. This time, Kyrgios left Hisense with the sound of boos ringing in his ears.
His stunted progress has evidently begun to wear on the patience of the Melbourne faithful, who made their displeasure known after Kyrgios appeared to succumb to an apparent knee injury and negative body language in the final three sets - which included a racket smash that got him docked a point penalty after being broken in the third.
He'd come out blazing, overpowering Seppi in a stress-free first set before taking the second with a dominant tiebreaker. But Seppi upped his aggressiveness with his back against the wall, and Kyrgios began to crumble.
After Seppi had held for eight-all in the fifth - saving a match point with a brilliant down-the-line forehand in the process - Kyrgios double-faulted on break point to hand his opponent a 9-8 lead. The Italian served it out the following game, closing with an ace down the T that the laboring Kyrgios didn't make much move to return.
''Obviously it's not the greatest thing to hear,'' Kyrgios said of the boos that followed him off the court. ''I didn't have the best preparation coming into the Australian Open. Pretty banged up, my body. But getting booed off, definitely not the best feeling.''
A stark contrast to the match the two played on the same court in 2015, after which Kyrgios said: "It was the best feeling I ever had."
Seppi, too, found himself at the opposite end of the emotional spectrum after the oddly symmetrical reversal of fortune.
''I don't know, maybe it was meant to be," he said.
"I was two sets to love down, and I said, 'OK, the last time I was two sets to love up and I lost,' and I just tried to do it the same (as Kyrgios). So I just kept on fighting, and I think I played very well in the important moments in the end."