Nick Kyrgios has taken a dig at Australians' support of athletes after suffering a shock loss to 17-year-old Canadian Denis Shapalova.
The 11th-seed went down 7-6 (7-2) 3-6 6-3 to the world No.370 in the first round of the Toronto Masters on Monday (Tuesday AEST as he started his US Open build up.
The loss, which took barely 90 minutes, left Kyrgios puzzling over his continual scratchy form and occasional lack of apparent desire on court.
He was plagued by 18 double-faults while hitting 13 aces in his first match since a fourth-round Wimbledon loss to Andy Murray.
Shapalova, who won the junior Wimbledon title a fortnight ago, was playing only his second ATP event after losing last week in the opening round in Washington.
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"I didn't play great, he played well," Kyrgios said.
"I didn't know I had that many double faults - it's pretty bad."
Kyrgios seemed at a loss to explain his own form, denying he had issues with his knee and rejecting the suggestion he had difficulty playing someone he was unfamiliar with.
He admitted his preparation was "not great" and that he was somewhat surprised by his performance.
The 21-year-old attracted some attention on social media in the days before the match, admitting on Twitter he had been playing more Pokemon Go than tennis.
"I'm not going to tell you what I did or what I didn't do to prepare for this match," he said.
"I just played pretty bad but he played great and he earnt it."
Kyrgios was full of praise for the younger player, labelling him a "top player" and predicting it will be only a matter of time before he is inside the top 100.
But he had a dig at Australia when asked what advice he would give Shapalova, now that he's caught the attention of his home country.
"I think the Canadians probably support their athletes a little better than the Australians do," he said.
Asked to expand on the comment, he replied: "I think it speaks for itself."
Kyrgios' defeat was balanced by success from compatriot Bernard Tomic, as the 12th seed beat Alejandro Gonzalez of Colombia 6-4 7-6 (7-0).
"I feel like here's a good chance for me," Tomic said.
"I really have to focus and really go for my shots and relax if I want to make a quarter or semi."
Shapalova next faces Grigor Dimitrov, after the Bulgarian flirted with an early exit but rallied in the nick of time to beat Japan's Yuichi Sugita 5-7 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 in two and a half hours.
