Nick Kyrgios has bounced back from a controversial second-set tantrum to reach the round of 16 at the Cincinnati Open.
A day after forgetting his tennis shoes for his first round match, the No.15 seed was pushed to a tiebreaker by Borna Coric in the first set but overcame the Croatian 7-1.
But it quickly went pear-shaped for the temperamental Australian who lost his cool before surrendering the second set 6-0.
On-court microphones picked up his comments as he vented his frustrations at the umpiring.
"You'll never see a bigger tank than the next 3 games," tennis writer Reem Abulleil reported him as telling his courtside team.
He also mimed eyeglasses at the umpire and didn't spare himself, saying after missing a return: "Played professional tennis for 15 years and still can't hit a proper forehand return."
Kyrgios, however, rallied in the third set, delighting the crowd with several shots between his legs on his way to winning it 6-3.
The Australian No.1 will now face either South Korea's Hyeon Chung or Argentinian Juan Martin del Potro for a spot in the quarter-finals.
Earlier, Novak Djokovic came from behind to beat Adrian Mannarino in the second round of the tournament.
Djokovic, the 10th seed, recovered from losing the opening set as he saw off Frenchman Mannarino 4-6 6-2 6-1 in two hours and six minutes.
Serbia's Wimbledon champion will face defending champion Grigor Dimitrov in the third round after the Bulgarian dispatched German Mischa Zverev 7-6 (7-5) 7-5.
Meanwhile, Zverev's younger brother third seed Alexander Zverev was eliminated by Robin Haase after he produced a surprise turnaround.
The Dutchman, ranked 55th in the world, advanced at the expense of world No.4 Zverev defeating the German 5-7 6-4 7-5.
Haase, who last week kicked off his North American hardcourt swing by reaching the Toronto quarter-finals, converted six of seven break point opportunities in a match lasting two hours and 25 minutes.
Haase improved to a 2-2 career record against Zverev, including victories in their last two meetings.
"We've played four times now," Haase said. "The first time he literally kicked my ass. ... That was the tournament where he actually came up. And, yeah, since then he's come a long way.
"And now I was there twice physically, mentally and game-wise I was there. And we have to be a little bit lucky, as well, against these top guys."
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