Nick Kyrgios upsets Poland's Hubert Hurkacz by racing through service games in Montreal Open defeat

Nick Kyrgios raised eyebrows with a high-speed approach to his service games during his 7-6 6-7 6-1 quarter-final defeat against Poland's Hubert Hurkacz. The Australian averaged 1 minutes and 22 seconds through the first two sets, holding in 44 seconds during one especially speedy second set game. Ad Hurkacz was hardly slow, averaging a little over two minutes himself, but he was put off by Kyrgios' approach, making some quiet comments to the match umpire.

ATP Montreal'I'm missing home' — Tired Kyrgios downs 'hell of a player' De Minaur in Montreal13 HOURS AGO The rules state that the server sets the pace though, so Hurkacz had little recourse. The pair raced through the opening tiebreaker set, playing 69 points in 33 minutes. From the opening point of the match, Kyrgios was limping on an ankle issue and continuously stretching his back.

It seemed as if his speedy approach to serving may have been a tactic aimed at getting through the match as quickly as possible. The pair completed two tiebreaker sets in little over an hour, moving at a rapid pace with both barely able to return at times. Unfortunately for the Australian, those ankle and back issues became more pronounced as the match entered its third set.

Then, Kyrgios became the first player in the match to have his serve broken and his spirit appeared to be fading. He allowed Hurkacz to race into a 3-0 lead in the decisive set, barely moving to try to return serve. It was an uncharacteristically quiet display from Kyrgios, with his typical shouting to his box and chirping at the umpire nowhere to be seen until he began to struggle in the third set.