Top-seeded Kiwi doubles hope Michael Venus and partner John Peers have fallen to a shock 7-6 7-6 loss in the opening round of the men's ASB Classic in Auckland.
The 2017 French Open champion and his new Australian cohort came up short on key points, as the unseeded duo of Kiwi Artem Sitak and Indian Divaj Sharan came up trumps in tiebreakers to advance to the quarter-finals.
The result was hugely disappointing for Venus, who was also bundled out of the singles draw in the first round by Tennys Sandgren on Monday.
Just a couple of hours after Venus' exit, the tournament also lost its singles top seed, as Spain's Feliciano Lopez - playing in his second match of the day - sent Italy's Fabio Fognini packing 3-6 6-4 6-3.
The unseeded veteran blasted 17 aces on his way to victory over Fognini, who needed medical treatment for a lower-back issue during the second-set break.
Briton Kyle Edmund booked his spot in the next round with a 6-3 7-6 win over Italian Andreas Seppi.
Second seed Canadian Denis Shapovalov needed just two sets to overcome fellow countryman Vasek Pospisil 6-4 7-6.
In other singles results, Sandgren suffered a 6-7 7-6 3-6 loss to big-serving American John Isner, Marco Cecchinato prevailed in an epic three-set clash with Leonardo Mayer.
Poland's Hubert Hurkacz defeated promising young Swede Mikael Ymer 6-2 7-6, while Lopez claimed his first win of the day against compatriot Pablo Andujar 3-6 7-6 6-4.
Join us on Thursday for live updates of the ASB Classic from Auckland
