Tennis World number three Alexander Zverev has been beaten by 39th-ranked American Tommy Paul in his Indian Wells opening match.
This left him crashing out of the ATP Indian Wells Masters on Sunday, after the game that ended 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7/2).
After dropping a first set, in which Paul mercilessly punished his second serve, Zverev levelled the match with the only break of the second set in the 10th game.
After holding his serve to love three times and breaking Paul in the sixth game of the third set, Zverev appeared to be on his way to victory.
But the German immediately gave the break back with a disastrous game that featured four double faults.
Paul took the set to a tiebreak that he dominated with the same aggression he showed in the opening set.
The Indian Wells was his first tournament since he was disqualified from the Mexico Open in Acapulco for smashing his racquet against the chair the umpire sat on.
The 24-year-old Olympic gold medallist from Germany was fined $40,000.
He was also fined $25,000 fine and an eight-week ban followed. However, both fines didn’t stand as they were suspended on grounds that he doesn’t commit another offence.
“I played a really high level today,” said Paul, as quoted by AFP. “I knew how I wanted to play him, so I came out and executed it well.
“It got kind of crazy there in the second set, and I got lucky a little bit in the end, but I played well when it came down to the breaker, so I’m pretty happy with my performance.”