Nick Kyrgios bowed out of his Marseille Open defence with a semi-final loss to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga but not without some customary fighting words.
The firebrand Australian lashed out at the umpire during the close 7-6 (7-5) 2-6 6-4 loss to the second seeded Frenchman on Saturday (Sunday AEDT).
Refused the chance to question a line call on Tsonga's serve during the first set, Kyrgios was none too pleased.
"I've seen referees wait five, six seconds after the ball's gone out," Kyrgios said.
"For them it's OK but when I do it once, it's not OK. You guys are biased as s***."
It was a frustrating set for Kyrgios, who served for the match at 5-4 only to be broken. He then went on to lose the tiebreak.
Tsonga lost his way in the second set as Kyrgios logged two breaks of serve but recovered to break once in the decider for the win.
The 31-year-old Frenchman saved five of eight break points and had to prevail in the face of 16 aces from Kyrgios to win their first meeting and give himself the chance of a third Marseille crown after his victories in 2009 and 2013.
Tsonga claimed his first title since 2015 last week in Rotterdam and maintained his streak of hot form in the face of typically inspired play by the unpredictable Kyrgios.
His victory set up an all-French final on Sunday against Lucas Pouille, who beat another Frenchman Richard Gasquet 7-5 6-3 in the other last-four match.
Defending rankings points from winning at Marseille last year, Kyrgios is expected to slip from his current ranking of 16 - a marker he'd undoubtedly like to stay inside for the French Open in May to avoid playing anyone rated higher until at least round four in Paris.
It was Kyrgios's first ATP tournament since his disappointing second round exit at the Australian Open.
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