Australian Open: Kyrgios raises the roof with epic comeback win over Humbert

The local favourite scrapped his way back into the contest time and again to secure a third-round date with U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem.

Australia's Nick Kyrgios in action against Ugo Humbert on Wednesday-GETTY IMAGES

Nick Kyrgios fed off a febrile atmosphere to save two match points on his way to a 5-7 6-4 3-6 7-6(2) 6-4 comeback victory over Frenchman Ugo Humbert in the second round of the Australian Open on Wednesday.

He triggered bedlam when he dug deep to save Humbert's match points in the fourth set and proceeded to even up the contest by dominating the tiebreak.

There were also the extras that showman Kyrgios brings to the court -- an underarm serve, some exquisite shot-making and a running row with the umpire over net cord calls.

A ball fired off his racket in one moment of frustration hit the umpire's chair and cost him a point but there was to be no denying the 25-year-old.

The crowd exploded one final time after nearly 3 1/2 hours when Humbert sent a backhand return sailing wide of the line.

Kyrgios scrapped his way back into the contest time and again to secure a third-round date with U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem and a victory there would send Kyrgios into the fourth round of the Australian Open for the third time.

"He's one of the best players in the world.  I'm not even going to think about that," he said, wiping sweat from his brow.

The mercurial Australian rarely sticks around for the second week of his home major but his early round matches on his favourite John Cain Arena court are guaranteed entertainment.

"I don't how I did that, honestly, that is one of the craziest matches I've ever played.  It was a strange match, if you guys were inside my head, there were some dark thoughts in there." Kyrgios said.

"It's my career, I live to fight another day and hopefully I can continue to play tennis in front of you guys," he added.