Nick Kyrgios's effort is under the microscope again after an umpire suggested a point during his first-round Shanghai Masters defeat was "really borderline".

Key points: Nick Kyrgios was fined the previous three times he played at the Shanghai Masters

Nick Kyrgios was fined the previous three times he played at the Shanghai Masters He lost the match in three sets, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, to low-ranked American Bradley Klahn

He lost the match in three sets, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, to low-ranked American Bradley Klahn Kyrgios is now in danger of not being seeded for the Australian Open in January

The Australian, who at times appeared largely disinterested in his 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 loss to American qualifier Bradley Klahn, engaged in a heated argument with chair umpire Damien Dumusois over the comment.

"Nick, last point was really borderline," Dumusois said after the world number 104 aced Kyrgios to make it 2-1 in the second set.

The world number 38 fired back.

"I don't care, bro. You have no right to tell me that it's poor," he told the French official.

The verbal sparring continued at the next change of ends as Kyrgios queried whether he meant "borderline good or bad", and was told that his efforts left a lot to be desired.

"You know exactly what I meant, Nick. There's a way of playing tennis on a tennis court," he said.

Kyrgios then smashed an ace and turned to Dumusois to sarcastically ask "was that borderline poor?" and was rebuked.

"That's enough. I don't want to talk about that anymore," Dumusois said.

The 23-year-old rattled off another three aces to close out the game, pointing at the official each time.

"When I get aced … very poor, like it's poor behaviour. But when they get aced … it's fine right, they walk side to side, it's fine," Kyrgios ranted to his box.

He later cautioned the umpire for his comments towards him.

"You know I literally could just go to the ATP office after this and say I just felt put down from your comment and you'd be in trouble, right?" he said.

"I'm not going to do it, but I'm just saying."

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Shanghai fines rack up for Kyrgios

The Shanghai Masters has been a particularly unhappy hunting ground for Kyrgios over the years, with this being the fourth year in a row that he has stoked controversy at the competition.

Sorry, this video has expired Nick Kyrgios walked off court at the Shanghai Masters last year.

Last year he was fined $US10,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct after hitting two balls out the stadium and quitting mid-match against Steve Johnson in the first round of the tournament.

The year before, Kyrgios was fined and subsequently banned from the ATP tour for eight weeks after being accused of tanking in a second-round loss to Mischa Zverev in 2016.

In that game, in which the un-seeded German dismantled Kyrgios in just 48 minutes, Kyrgios appeared to walk off court before Zverev had completed his service game, leading to a chorus of boos.

He was also fined $US1,500 at the 2015 edition of the tournament after audibly swearing and complaining the event was a "circus".

This most recent Shanghai meltdown comes after Swedish umpire Mohamed Lahyani was suspended for giving the Aussie a mid-match pep talk in his second-round US Open win.

With his ranking at 38 in the world, Kyrgios is now in danger of not being seeded for the Australian Open in January, with the top 32 players guaranteed to be seeded for the season's opening grand slam.

Kyrgios has been toppled as Australia's number one player with 19-year-old Alex de Minaur moving up to 33 in the world to take top spot for the first time in his career.

De Minaur is ranked one spot ahead of compatriot John Millman as both climbed spots due to Kyrgios' dramatic, 11-place fall.

AAP/ABC