Jack Draper was brought back down to earth with a second-round loss to Czech teenager Jakub Mensik at the Miami Open.
Six days after winning the biggest title of his career, and one of the biggest in the sport, in Indian Wells, the British number one was felled 7-6 (2) 7-6 (3) by 19-year-old Mensik.
Bizarre scenes saw the match suspended midway through the second set because of loud booing from Brazilian fans in the crowd.
They had secured seats early to be in position for their young star Joao Fonseca, who had been due to play Ugo Humbert after Draper’s match, but learned with Draper leading 4-3 that the clash had been moved to the main court.
The 23-year-old Londoner asked for his match to be paused because of the distraction, with the umpire waiting several minutes for the Brazilian fans to leave.
It did not change the momentum, though, with Draper unable to force Mensik out of his rhythm, particularly on serve, in what are very different conditions to Indian Wells.
Sixth seed Draper, who broke into the top 10 for the first time on Monday, made a flying start, breaking Mensik at the first opportunity, but the teenager levelled at 3-3 and from there on was the better player.
He took advantage of badly-timed errors from Draper in the first tie-break and, although the US Open semi-finalist saved six break points in the second set, the tie-break went the same way, with Mensik clinching one of the biggest victories of his career with a 21st ace.
Draper will head home and turn his focus to the clay season, with British singles hopes in Florida now resting on the shoulders of Emma Raducanu, who takes on McCartney Kessler in the third round on Sunday.
Qualifier Jacob Fearnley joined Draper in exiting the tournament, losing 6-2 6-4 to top seed Alexander Zverev, who had also beaten the Scot in straight sets at the Australian Open.
Third seed Taylor Fritz was a 7-6 (2) 6-3 winner over Lorenzo Sonego while 20-year-old Hong Kong wild card Coleman Wong stunned Ben Shelton in a final-set tie-break.
In the third round of the women’s tournament, top seed Aryna Sabalenka had an easy afternoon, with Romanian opponent Elena-Gabriela Ruse pulling out after losing the first set 6-1.
Ons Jabeur, meanwhile, was helped off court by opponent Jasmine Paolini after sustaining a leg injury and retiring at 4-3 down in the opening set of their contest.
Coco Gauff beat Maria Sakkari in Indian Wells and did so again in Florida, claiming a 6-2 6-4 victory, while Naomi Osaka battled past Hailey Baptiste in a clash lasting more than three hours.
