Nick Kyrgios appeared to spit at the chair umpire after tanking a match in a vile Cincinnati Masters meltdown

• Nick Kyrgios described umpire Fergus Murphy as "the worst in the game" and smashed two rackets during his second-round exit at the Cincinnati Masters.
• The Australian also took aim at Rafael Nadal after being called for time violation, calling out the Spaniard for his notoriously slow service routine.
• Kyrgios has already had a run-in with Murphy this year when back in June he accused the Irish umpire of rigging the match after disagreeing with his ruling on a ball.
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Nick Kyrgios appeared to spit at an umpire after launching a vile tirade of verbal abuse in his latest on-court meltdown.

The Australian crashed out of the Cincinnati Masters in spectacular fashion on Wednesday, losing to Russian Karen Khachanov 7-6, 6-7, 2-6 in the round of 32.

Kyrgios started the match well, taking the first set, however, his outburst began early in the second after being called for a time violation by chair umpire Fergus Murphy who said he was taking too much time between serves.

The 24-year-old quickly hit back with a fiery response, referencing Rafael Nadal's notoriously slow service routine, saying: "That's hilarious, if Rafa [Rafael Nadal] plays that quick I'm retiring from tennis," according to The Guardian.

"Absolute rubbish … disgrace," he added.

"Get me some footage of Rafa playing that quick, that game. If you can find any of that I'll shut my mouth and never speak again. I guarantee you'll find none of that, none of it."

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After losing the second set in a tie-breaker, Kyrgios delved further into madness, shouting to the crowd and calling Murphy "the worst ref in the game, hands down," adding: "Every time I play he's doing some stupid s---, every time." - an outburst that earned him a court violation.

To add insult to injury, Kyrgios was then denied a bathroom break. He took it anyway - using the time instead to smash two rackets before returning to the court.

By this time, Kyrgios had all but given up on the game, and eighth seed Khachanov rushed to take the third set 6-2 and secure his place in the last-16.

Kyrgios took one final shot at Murphy after the game, calling him "a f------ tool" before appearing to spit towards him.

One young fan got lucky at least as Kyrgios handed him his broken racket after the game. A piece of history, if not a working instrument.

You can watch Kyrgios' full meltdown here (warning, foul language):

This isn't the first time this year Kyrgios has suffered a breakdown on the court.

In June, it was Murphy again on the end of one of the Aussie's infamous temper tantrums, with Kyrgios accusing the Irish umpire of rigging the match after disagreeing with his ruling on a ball.

And only last week during his first-round exit at the Canadian Open, Kyrgios lost it with umpire Adel Nour over the absence of unbranded white towels.

Kyrgios has been fined more than $190,000 and banned for a total of 12 weeks over the past five years, and has been kicked off the ATP tour three times, according to The Guardian.

He is likely to face further sanctions following his actions in Cincinnati.