NEW YORK -- The Grand Slam breakout season for Stefanos Tsitsipas ended in agony and controversy in the first round of the US Open, as he lost Tuesday to 21-year-old Russian up-and-comer Andrey Rublev 6-4, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (7), 7-5.
Tsitsipas, the No. 8 seed, lost the first set to his unseeded challenger, but he appeared to regain control of the match when he won a second-set tiebreaker. Then things began to spin out of control for him when he was cited by chair umpire Damien Dumusois with a code violation for coaching.
Tsitsipas' father, Apostolos, among others, was in the player's guest box. The Greek player was fined $3,000 on Wednesday for coaching.
After Tuesday's match, Tsitsipas was unsparing in his criticism of Dumusois, suggesting there was a pattern to his actions.
"I don't know what this chair umpire has in specific against my team, but he's been complaining and telling me that my team talks all of the time when I'm out on the court playing," Tsitsipas said.
"I believe he's not right, because I never hear anything of what my team says from the outside. And there is nothing that I personally believe can help my game or make me play better."
The 21-year-old Greek star's problems were compounded after he dropped a close third-set tiebreaker. With cramps coming on, Tsitsipas summoned the trainer on the changeover at 3-2 in the fourth set. He did not receive treatment but took medication provided by the trainer.
Gasping for air, favoring his left leg and ending points with slashing, go-for-broke shots, Tsitsipas held on to tie it at 3-3. The next game, however, he had his serve broken by Rublev and trailed 3-4.
On the changeover with Tsitsipas trailing 4-5, Dumusois warned him that he was taking too long to get into a bag containing fresh bandanas, prompting the player to push back.
"I have to change," Tsitsipas protested.
Told he was about to incur another penalty, Tsitsipas fumed.
"I don't care," he said. "Do whatever you want because you're the worst. For some reason you have something against me, I don't know what you have ... because you're French, probably. And you're all weirdos."
Tsitsipas was given a time violation for not returning to the court quickly enough, which carried the automatic loss of a point.
Asked later if the "all" was a reference to chair umpires in general, Tsitsipas said he wished all chair umpires were like Mohamed Lahyani, who triggered a controversy of his own at last year's tournament when he climbed out of the chair to give a pep talk to Nick Kyrgios.
"I wish that all the chair umpires were like [Lahyani], because I believe he's the best in the game," Tsitsipas said. "And we need more like him in tennis because he's fair to everyone. I feel like some of them have preferences when they are on the court."
After the time violation, on a few occasions when Tsitsipas was seizing up with cramps, Dumusois did allow him a few extra seconds in either serving or receiving situations.
None of it enabled Tsitsipas to avert the inevitable, however. Nor could the shockingly bad game played by Rublev when he served for the match at 5-4. By then, Tsitsipas was hobbling badly between points and was in no shape to continue the struggle.
Rublev broke him with ease in the next game, then served out the match with no further drama.
Tsitsipas opened the Grand Slam season by upsetting Roger Federer en route to the Australian Open semifinals, where he was stopped by Rafael Nadal. He then reached the fourth round at the French Open, losing a heartbreakingly close match -- falling 8-6 in the fifth set -- to resurgent former champion Stan Wawrinka.
But that is where his breakthrough season stalled out. Tsitsipas lost in the first round at Wimbledon to unheralded Thomas Fabbiano, who was No. 89 in the ATP rankings. He took the loss hard, and appeared to launch a period of self-evaluation.
"I remember achieving my career high of 5 in the world," Tsitsipas said. "I was really excited when I saw that No. 5 and my name next to it. Then I realized that in order to stay up there, I have to be very, very consistent during semifinals, finals, winning titles, and I don't know why that got in my brain a little bit."
Tsitsipas admitted that instead of taking inspiration from his great leap, the pressure of his new status grew as he soldiered on, playing a hefty schedule that left him jaded.
"I feel like I'm doing the same thing over and over again, and my brain can't really take it anymore," Tsitsipas said. "I feel like I'm doing the same routines on the court, the same execution, the same -- I mean, same strategies and everything. I don't feel inspired. I play out on the court, and I don't feel like I'm chasing something."
There are no more Grand Slam titles to chase this year for Tsitsipas, even if he has a change of heart.
Fourth-seeded Dominic Thiem joined Tsitsipas as another young hopeful in the losing column Tuesday, as the French Open finalist fell to Fabbiano 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
In addition to knocking off Tsitsipas at Wimbledon this year, Fabbiano also beat Stan Wawrinka at Wimbledon last year. The Italian, however, has never advanced beyond the third round of a Grand Slam tournament.
Unseeded Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan ousted No. 10 Roberto Bautista Agut, a Wimbledon semifinalist, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
Seeded players to advance included No. 14 John Isner, No. 22 Marin Cilic, No. 24 Matteo Berrettini and No. 32 Fernando Verdasco.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.