Australia's Nick Kyrgios returns the ball to Russia's Danill Medvedev during their ATP Masters tournament tennis match at the Foro Italico in Rome. Image Credit: AFP

Rome: Nick Kyrgios was defaulted from his second round Italian Open clash against Norway’s Casper Ruud on Thursday after the hot-headed Australian hurled a chair on to the court.

World No. 36 Kyrgios was given a code violation for ‘unsportsmanlike conduct’ after being broken early in the third set. Having already been handed a code violation earlier in the match, the latest outburst meant the umpire also handed him a game penalty.

This prompted an angry Kyrgios to slam his racket into the ground, kick a water bottle before he tossed a chair towards the centre of the court.

The frustrated 24-year-old shook hands with his opponent and the umpire before he strode off the court, effectively defaulting himself from the contest.

Ruud was leading 6-3 6-7(5) 2-1 when Kyrgios was disqualified and will face Juan Martin del Potro in the third round.

Roger Federer, meanwhile, marked his return with a solid 6-4, 6-3 win over Joao Sousa in the second round while Fernando Verdasco battled back to stun Dominic Thiem.