Nick Kyrgios put himself through more turmoil as he set up a blockbuster showdown with Rafael Nadal – and then admitted he will never change.
The volatile 24-year-old was almost in full meltdown mode during a roller-coaster five-setter against fellow Australian Jordan Thompson.
Kyrgios earned a code violation for whacking a ball out of court and lost a set to love for the first time at a grand slam.
He threw in five attempted 'tweeners' – all of which missed – and an underarm serve on set point which also backfired.
But the world number 43 still managed to beat Thompson 7-6 (4) 3-6 7-6 (10) 0-6 6-1 in just under three-and-a-half hours.
"I'm never going to change," he said. "I used to be like this when I played under 12s, 14s.
"I just go out there, have fun, play the game how I want it to be played. At the end of the day, I know people are going to watch.
"Like, they can say the way I play isn't right or he's classless for the sport, all that sort of stuff. They're probably still going to be there watching."
Kyrgios, fined more than £13,000 for his histrionics at Queen's Club a fortnight ago, was at his breathtaking best and petulant worst in front of a packed Court Three.
Exchanging jokes with the crowd, he practised cricket shots after one winner that resembled a cover drive and dived extravagantly while chasing another.
At set point down in the first, he fired in a 133mph second serve before coming through in the tie-break.
However, serving at 4-5 in the third set, he began complaining to the umpire about a camera lens shining in his eyes and a woman who was speaking too loud.
The code violation, for smashing a ball out of the court, and an argument over a wrong line call – corrected after a challenge – irked Kyrgios further.
But fuelled by his usual sense of injustice he held serve with an ace and promptly broke to love, only for the underarm serve to cost him the following game and force a tie-break.
The ensuing 19 minutes was classic Kyrgios. Spectacular winners, maddening shot choices, football-style celebrations, more complaints over line calls and eight set points before he got over the line 12-10.
Yet in the following 18 minutes Kyrgios managed to lose the entire fourth set, collecting just five points along the way.
"If a boxer puts his hands down in a fight, does that mean he's not trying? It could be a tactic, couldn't it?" he said.
It worked, as Kyrgios refocused, re-calibrated, and simply blew Thompson away in the decider.
It set up a tantalising grudge match on Thursday, with Kyrgios having criticised Nadal, among others, in a recent podcast interview.
Kyrgios, who burst onto the scene by beating Nadal at Wimbledon five years ago, said: "I'll go in as an unbelievable underdog. (But) I know if I play the right type of tennis, I can have success against him.
"I have to come with the right attitude, I have to be willing to fight. If not, it's going to be butter for him."
