Kyrgios ignites Twitter feud with Verdasco

Nick Kyrgios has started a Twitter feud with Fernando Verdasco after the Spaniard's fiery run-in with his Aussie mate Thanasi Kokkinakis at the Miami Open.

Verdasco and Kokkinakis were at the centre of an ugly mid-match confrontation during their round of 32 match when the Spaniard complained about the Aussie's dad.

'THAT'S MY F***ING DAD': Kokkinakis blows up at Verdasco mid-match

The 34-year-old veteran was incensed by a man in the crowd who was talking between his serves, with a fuming Kokkinakis later revealing that it was his father.

Kyrgios went in to bat for Kokkinakis over the incident, posting his support for his Aussie compatriot and his obvious dislike for Verdasco.

The tweet from the 17th seed was later deleted but not before it was picked up from his social media followers.

The comment from Kyrgios prompted an angry response from Verdasco, who suggested the Aussie was gutless for deleting the post.

Verdasco's incident with Kokkinakis took some gloss off his gripping 3-6 6-4 7-6 (7-4) win over the Aussie, who knocked Swiss world No.1 and defending champion Roger Federer out of the Masters 1000 event.

The Spaniard did apologise for offending Kokkinakis, explaining that he thought it was the Aussie's coach who was talking between serves.

Verdasco rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the third set and again from 3-0 down in the tiebreaker.

After the match, the pair engaged in a frosty handshake.

It was a much smoother on court for Kyrgios, the 17th seed, who cruised to a routine 6-3 6-3 over 15th-seeded Italian Fabio Fognini, requiring just 66 minutes to progress.

"We both competed," Kyrgios told the ATP website.

"I just played a little better in some bigger points."

Kyrgios was dominant on serve yet again and has not faced a break point in his two matches at Crandon Park.

"I knew it was going to be tough. He has a lot of tricks up his sleeve and he's very unpredictable," Kyrgios said.

"I knew I just had to serve well, play aggressive and keep the points short."

Kyrgios will meet fourth seed Alexander Zverev in the round of 16 after the German beat veteran David Ferrer 2-6 6-2 6-4.

Also reaching the fourth round were South African sixth seed Kevin Anderson, Spanish 16th seed Pablo Carreno Busta and 18-year-old Canadian Denis Shapovalov.

With AAP