Alexander Zverev admits he needs to figure out his grand slam struggles after bombing out of the Australian Open in the third round for the second year running.
The German fourth seed faded badly on Saturday in a 5-7 7-6 (7-3) 2-6 6-3 6-0 loss to South Korean rising star Hyeon Chung in three hours and 22 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.
It continues a run of underachievement at grand slams for Zverev, who is yet to live up to his enormous potential on the big stage.
The 20-year-old already has six ATP titles but is yet to reach the quarter-finals of a major from 11 attempts.
His latest defeat follows a five-set loss to Milos Raonic in the round of 16 at Wimbledon and another to Rafael Nadal last year in the third round at Melbourne Park.
Describing his fifth-set issues as nothing to do with physical conditioning, Zverev conceded he was putting too much pressure on himself to perform in the majors.
"I have some figuring out to do, what happens to me in deciding moments in grand slams," Zverev said.
"It happened at Wimbledon. It happened in New York. It happened here.
"I'm still young, so I got time. I definitely have some figuring out to do for myself."
Zverev's lack of focus late in the match was clear when he argued with the chair umpire about the need for additional light and smashed his racquet after conceding a double break of serve.
The final set statistics make for ugly reading for Zverev. He won just five points, fired off only two winners and made 14 unforced errors compared to just one for Chung.
It is world No.58 Chung's first tour win over a top-10 ranked player, setting up a fourth-round showdown with Novak Djokovic after the six-time champion's straight-sets defeat of Albert Ramos-Vinolas.
The 21-year-old has never previously made it past the third round of a major.
The reigning Next Gen Finals champion has seen off two Zverevs at Melbourne Park after Alexander's older brother Mischa's retirement during their first-round match.
"It was (a) really tough match again today," Chung said.
"Alex Zverev is a really good player. I'm just trying to play 100 per cent on court.
"I play Novak like two, three years ago in Rod Laver (Arena). And I have one more chance to play with him if he wins tonight."
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