Thanasi Kokkinakis has bowed out of the Australian Open in the second round for the sixth time, suffering defeat at the hands of Brit Jack Draper.
It comes exactly two years after Kokkinakis fell from two sets up against Andy Murray in a similar-length second-round battle.
The Aussie - who entered the match carrying an upper-body injury - came out of the blocks firing, before the fifteenth seed hit back to create a best-of-three set scenario.
Holding serve at 3-3 in the third after a near 17-minute game, the 28-year-old broke Draper to take control of the match and send John Cain Arena into a frenzy.
Maintaining his stranglehold until 5-4 in the fourth, Kokkinakis was broken to love when serving for the match and was not able to mentally recover, ultimately falling 6-7(3), 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.
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Post-match, the Aussie was 'flat' in his press conference, revealing the significant pain that he's been dealing with for some time.
"I'm angry....pissed. Even if I won, I wouldn't have been able to play the next match. I'm annoyed," Kokkinakis revealed.
"[My] shoulder was gone before the match. I just tried to tough it out. I was touch-and-go again to play this week. Took a million painkillers to try and get through."
The Aussie further revealed that he continued to push through the match knowing that regardless of the result, he would need time off following this tournament.
"I knew after I had some serious decisions to make, and I'm going to miss some time. I just tried to kind of empty the tank today and for this week and see what I can do. I put myself in a winning position. I didn't have enough to get over, so that's annoying.
"I know I'm going to be out for a while...I'm pretty flat."
Kokkinakis described his injury in detail, revealing that it is affecting his pectoral muscle and has been troubling him for years.
"There's a tear, for sure. I'm playing with a crazy amount of scar tissue in there. It's something that every time I show a physio or a doctor or something, they're taken back by it.
The injury has been a significant reason why the 28-year-old has been unable to back up long matches and compete consistently deep into tournaments, particularly at the four majors.
"I've tried to sort it out for years manually, without surgery, just trying to do what I can. It's the reason why I can't back up big matches. My whole body is fine. It's just the same injury that I worked so hard to try to get right.
"That's the thing holding me back..it's one of the big things stopping me from being able to reach my goals.
"Essentially, I can't play back-to-back intense matches no matter how much I train for it and try it. It's very deflating."
When asked what may be next, Kokkinakis held a rather bleak outlook regarding his future prospects under this injury cloud.
"It's clear that what I'm doing isn't working. [I have] a few tough decisions to make. I can keep doing what I'm doing now, hang around this ranking, have some good wins and a couple of good matches, and show promise, but in the back of my mind, I know I can't progress deep in tournaments.
"Or I try to get something done and give myself a crack at being where I think I could be.
"I don't know how long I'm going to be out...or what the future holds."
Kokkinakis is scheduled to play in Australia's Davis Cup qualifier at the end of the month but can be expected to withdraw, with the potential to miss a significant period of time.
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