All players struggle in steamy Darwin for the world group quarter-final, but social media accuses Kyrgios of tanking before he has even changed his shirt

'I don't want to be here': Nick Kyrgios wilts in the heat of a Davis Cup tie

With a cry of “I don’t want to be here” it seemed like tennis star Nick Kyrgios might be displaying his increasingly trademark bad behaviour, after a third set tiebreak in a nailbiting Davis Cup quarterfinal match against Aleksandr Nedovyesov of Kazakhstan.

All eyes were on the 20-year-old Kyrgios at Marrara Sport Complex in Darwin on Friday, in his first outing since Wimbledon where he was slammed for his on-court behaviour.

The seventh best singles player was up against 115th seed Nedovyesov but lost in four sets, becoming visibly frustrated as he brought his Australian team closer to crashing out of the Davis Cup following an earlier loss by Thanasis Kokkinakis.

By the end of play, as both players wavered in the heat, Kyrgios fired some blinders past Nedovyesov, but struggled to find his groove. Kyrgios lost 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (7-2) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 and after shaking the hand of his opponent and the umpire, smashed his racquet against a courtside box.

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Kyrgios has in the past been dubbed the most hated man in tennis, a label many, including world No 2 Roger Federer labelled unfair. The Australian has faced accusations of tanking, as well as criticism for swearing during matches and arguing with the umpire. His recent statements backing up former Davis Cup teammate Bernard Tomic after he railed against Tennis Australia and Pat Rafter were not received well either.

But appearing in front of the media after the match, Kyrgios spoke of his own frustrations with his game, and sought to explain that ungracious sounding comment.

“The position I was in out there wasn’t great,” said Kyrgios. “When you’ve got a chance to serve out the third set and give your team a chance to level up the tie, I blew that chance which wasn’t great.”

Asked again to clarify what he meant, given how “I don’t want to be here” could sound to his fans, Kyrgios again indicated it was frustration with himself.

“I didn’t think I was having that much fun out there to be honest. I was struggling to find myself in the match. I couldn’t get my feet set on any ball. My serve was probably the only thing I’d give a little bit of credit [for]. I don’t think I really found that balance of enjoying myself and playing some good tennis.”

There were moments during the match where Kyrgios at least didn’t appear to be hating it. A tricky win against Nedovyesov early in the second set sparked a rare smile, and a bemused headshake at the large and noisy cluster of Kazakhstan supporters followed soon after. A joke with the ball collectors, putting some backspin on a return throw to one young girl drew a laugh. The crowd were in his corner, especially the numerous children shouting their support, and the mood was at odds with that in the papers and online.

Before Kyrgios even changed his shirt on Friday afternoon the verdicts rolled in on social media. He tanked again, they said. It was an easy explanation for a shock upset by a much lower-ranked player against the Australian beset by weeks of scandal and bad press.

Controversy for Australian tennis resurfaced on Friday, with the news that Tomic had been arrested in Miami, after refusing to leave a hotel room following complaints of loud noises and music. Tennis Australia’s president, Steve Healy, said the organisation was “very concerned” for the player.

“Although we’ve had our differences with his team we’ve always expressed our willingness to help Bernard and we hope he can turn this difficult situation around,” Healy said.

The timing could not have been worse for the Davis Cup team, but it was played down. Kyrgios told media he messaged Tomic early that morning to “make sure he was OK”. “He’s young, still learning,” Kyrgios said.

Coach Wally Masur said he had also reached out to the troubled former Davis Cup team member.

“He got back to me. He said ‘ I’m OK bro.’ so that was good – and I got a double fist [emoticon], so I was pretty pleased.”

Kyrgios laughed to hear his mate’s response. Masur continued: “I’ve got kids, and believe it or not I was once called to the police station. Things happen.”

“It didn’t affect us. It’s a headline that we read.”

Kokkinakis had earlier told media the team had been trying to avoid distractions such as Tomic’s antics. “That’s the first thing that came up on my Facebook, I had a scroll and saw about eight mugshots of him,” Kokkinakis said.

“We’re trying to block it out. He’s doing his own thing over there, I didn’t read too much into it but it didn’t seem too bad. We’re just trying to do our own thing. We’ve got the tie to focus on but obviously it didn’t work.”

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Kokkinakis and Kyrgios are spending Saturday on the sidelines, hoping their team-mates Lleyton Hewitt and Sam Groth can keep the team’s chances alive with a win in the doubles.

Kyrgios said: “I don’t think one match really makes a difference to a career, but obviously I would have like to get the win today, it would have helped the team a lot.”

“But a lot’s been happening in the last couple of months so it was tough today. I’m just going to think big picture and help the team get the win tomorrow, do whatever I can on the sidelines. Me and Thanasi didn’t have the best day today but it happens.”