Top seed Rafael Nadal saw his Australian Open defence come to an early end after being knocked out by American world No 65 Mackenzie McDonald 6-4 6-4 7-5.
The top seed was already in trouble at a set and a break down to unseeded McDonald when he crouched down in obvious pain clutching his left hip after chasing out wide for a forehand.
Nadal called for the trainer after limping through the rest of the game and headed off court for treatment.
The last time a top seed (Nadal) was ousted in the second round of the Australian Open was against Gustavo Kuerten in 2001.
A retirement seemed on the cards, with the Spaniard’s wife Maria crying in the stands, but he opted to continue despite limping around the court.
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Nadal managed to hold his serve until the 11th game, roared on by fans still believing he could somehow turn things around, but it was a case of when not if McDonald would find a way through and he soon polished off the win.
Nadal revealed he had come into the match with an issue in his hip that then became significantly worse.
He said: “It has been a couple of days like this, but nothing like today in that movement. We’re going to start talking about that now, but I don’t know what’s going on, if it’s muscle, if it’s joint.
“I have history in the hip. I had to do treatments in the past, address it a little [but there] was not this amount of problem. Now I feel I cannot move.
“I tried until the end. I don’t know if in good conditions I will win the match, I will have better chances without a doubt. But at the end, that’s it. I just tried. It was not possible.”
Nadal pulled up awkwardly at the end of a point late in the second set against the 65th-ranked McDonald
The 36-year-old added: “In terms of sports and in terms of injuries and tough moments, that’s another one. I just can’t say that I am not destroyed mentally at this time, because I will be lying.