Thanasi Kokkinakis fumes at 'useless' umpire in war of words over ...

A crestfallen Thanasi Kokkinakis will consult with medical specialists to see if a solution can be found to the pectoral problem that is threatening to cruel his potential.

The Australian charge at Roland Garros ended when Kokkinakis fell painfully short of forcing 11th seed Karen Khachanov to a deciding set in their third-round match on Friday night.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Thanasi Kokkinakis involved in heated argument with the chair umpire.

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It was clear the chest muscle, which the South Australian badly injured in 2019, had flared midway through the 6-4 6-2 3-6 7-6 (7-5) loss to Khachanov.

Kokkinakis fought gamely to extend the match to almost five sets after engaging in a running verbal battle with chair umpire Katarzyna Radwan-Cho.

At one point, Kokkinakis was left exasperated at being denied the chance to go for a toilet break after losing the second set.

“All I’m asking is to try and p***,” he pleaded to the official.

Thanasi Kokkinakis had a running battle with the chair umpire. Credit: Channel 9 and Getty Images

“I get two for a match. Do you want me to p*** on the court? Is that what you want? So what do you want now?

“I’m asking to go to the toilet. I like cramped in my last match ‘cause I couldn’t ... so brutal.”

Despite his disappointing exit, Kokkinakis is projected to rise 23 spots to No.83 in the world, all but guaranteeing a direct entry to Wimbledon next month.

But the 27-year-old will still rue the one that got away after being left infuriated by the chair umpire.

First, he complained about her not intervening about fans chattering in the stands.

“They’re talking on my serve during every point and you’re not saying a thing.” Kokkinakis said.

Then, after losing the first set, the South Australian moaned about the courts being watered, which Khachanov totally agreed with.

“It’s already the slowest possible conditions - ever - and you’re putting water on a court that’s not slippery,” Kokkinakis said.

“The court is dying,” said Khachanov.

Thanasi Kokkinakis was dejected after his defeat. Credit: Getty Images

In even more worrying signs, after losing his cool mentally, Kokkinakis began to break down physically in the opening game of the second set.

He repeatedly clutched at his right pec, tried to stretch the muscle between points and complained to his courtside box about having “zero power on serve”.

Agitated enough over a line call that went against him, Kokkinakis then blew his stack about the “useless” chair umpire for being unable to control the crowd before dropping his opening service game of the second set.

Kokkinakis rallied to win the third set, raising hopes the unfulfilled talent could reach the second week of a grand slam for the first time - some eight years after making the last 32 in Paris for his previous best major result.

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But it was not to be, with Kokkinakis eventually submitting after three hours and 42 minutes.

“It’s just the same rupture I’ve had since 2019,” Kokkinakis explained about his injury after the match.

“I did it so bad that it’s tough for me to progress a little bit when I try to back up some deep matches.

“I know I’m going to be sore in my legs. I know I’m going to have little aches, stuff like that. But it’s just the one injury that stops me a little bit.

“I’m going to get a little bit of other advice, maybe some surgical stuff, and see what the result is, because I’m always limited a little bit when I try and back up matches.

“It is probably not the first or second match, but it’s sort of third and fourth onwards kind of affects me a lot.”

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