Australian Nick Kyrgios said the smell of marijuana on Louis Armstrong Stadium during his second round match at the US Open last night affected him and made him fear it could exacerbate his asthma attack.
Kyrgios took time during the second set of his win over Frenchman Benjamin Ponzi to complain to the main referee about the smell, which led to the audience being asked to "stop smoking".
The Australian player told reporters after the match that it was not funny, and said, "People do not know that I suffer from severe asthma. When I run in the smell of smoke I find it difficult to breathe, maybe not something I want to breathe between match points."
Kyrgios admitted that the tumultuous atmosphere of the tournament distinguishes it from the other three major tournaments.
"The US Open has a very different atmosphere than anywhere else," he said. "I feel Wimbledon was very appropriate. The Australian Open kind of expects that there, being from Australia. But here, it's always kind of noisy."
"I can barely hear the sounds on the pitch, I can't even hear my team because the noise is rampant and loud all the time," he added.
The big-serving world number 23 will meet American teenager JJ Wolf in the third round on Friday.