Nick Kyrgios says he quit Shanghai because he's been battling a stomach bug.
For the second straight year, Kyrgios made a controversial exit from the Shanghai Rolex Masters.
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After American Steve Johnson took the first set from the 22-year-old Aussie, 7-6 (5), Kygrios, who was upset by line calls earlier in the set, walked off the court in a bizarre retirement from the first-round match.
The 21st-ranked Kyrgios incurred two code violations from unsportsmanlike conduct, including a point penalty during the tie break when he continued venting over questionable calls.
A courtside microphone caught Kyrgios telling his box he would stop playing if he lost the set.
When the set ended, Kyrgios walked to net, shook Johnson's hand, shook the chair umpire's hand, picked up his bag and bailed after 47 minutes of play as some fans jeered.
The stunning exit came a year after Kyrgios was suspended and fined for tanking his Shanghai Rolex Masters match to Mischa Zverev.
Kyrgios fell to Rafael Nadal in straight sets in the Beijing final on Sunday.
After today's match, Kyrgios tweeted out this apology claiming he's been battling a stomach virus and a sore shoulder that prevented him from continuing.
"I want to apologize to the fans in Shanghai and those that watched around the world on TV today," Kyrgios wrote. "I've been battling a stomach bug for the past 24 hours and I tried to be ready but I was really struggling on the court today which I think was pretty evident from the first point.
"My shoulder started to hurt in the practice today which didn't help either and once I lost the first set I was just not strong enough to continue because I've not eaten much in the past 24 hours."
Kyrgios was one of three men to retire on a humid Shanghai day today.
Jack Sock, Kyrgios' sometime doubles partner, retired while trailing Alexandr Dolgopolov, 1-2, in the third set. Mischa Zverev, who won his opening set, 6-3, retired down 5-6 in the second set to compatriot Jan-Lennard Struff.
Photo credit: China Open Facebook