Feuding tennis stars Bernard Tomic and Nick Kyrgios have been seeded into the same quarter of the draw at the Indian Wells Masters.
It makes for an interesting clash if they do meet in the quarter-finals after Tomic declared he would lose some respect for Kyrgios if he played the tournament in California after missing Australia's Davis Cup loss to the United States last weekend due to illness.
Tomic is seeded 17th for the tournament and Kyrgios is seeded 24, meaning both get a bye through the first round.
Action in the men's main draw gets underway on Thursday (Friday AEDT).
Young guns Tomic and Kyrgios were involved in a long-distance spat on Sunday after Tomic complained about Kyrgios' absence midway through his reverse singles loss to John Isner in the World Group first-round tie at Kooyong.
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"Two times Nick has faked it. Twice. While I'm here, Nick's sitting down in Canberra. Bullsh*t he's sick," Tomic muttered to Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt during a change of ends.
The Australian No.1 later told reporters a similar situation happened last February when Kyrgios withdrew from the Davis Cup tie against the Czech Republic.
"He didn't come to Czech and had stress fractures and somehow played Indian Wells and felt good," Tomic said.
"He said he's `still sick but I'm going to be better tomorrow' - so it's just weird for me.
"If he plays Indian Wells, then he's definitely lost a little bit of my respect."
In response, Kyrgios taunted Tomic on Twitter, referencing the Queenslander's 6-0 6-1 loss to Jarkko Nieminen in Miami two years ago.
"Let's not forget who holds the quickest loss on the ATP Tour lol," Kyrgios posted.
"#howmanyminutesagain"
Kyrgios followed up with: "Heat of the moment, not gonna take it personally. Indian wells a week away, plenty of time".
He then tweeted a more cutting: "Just don't expect me to have your back anytime soon".
Tomic and Kyrgios - who haven't actually played Davis Cup together since 2013 due to various injuries, illnesses and suspension - would both need to win three matches to set up a spicy quarter-final clash.
