Ben Shelton and Rinky Hijikata were left furious after play was suspended late on day four at Wimbledon moments before the American was due to serve for the match.
The second-round contest was approaching a conclusion, despite both players questioning whether the match should continue into the third set with light quickly fading.
The No 10 seed led 6-2, 7-5, 5-4 before the umpire announced on No 2 Court “play is suspended” at 9:29pm BST.
Shelton then raced towards the umpire’s chair, waving his finger to protest at the decision.
The 22-year-old was held back by an official before hastily packing his bag and applauding the crowd.
Shelton was in fine form and had failed to drop a service game all match.
Ben Shelton of United States gestures to the crowd after play was suspended (Getty Images)
Both players had made arguments after 9pm to stop play and return on Friday to conclude the match.
Shelton and Hijikata will resume their match, which has currently lasted two hours and 11 minutes, on No 2 Court at around 1:30pm, with the match due on second after Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Naomi Osaka in the women’s singles third round.
The decision was met with frustration and anger from both broadcasters and fans. The ESPN commentary team called the decision “unbelievable”.
Ben Shelton of the U.S. reacts after the decision is made to suspend play due to low light (REUTERS)
CoCo Vandeweghe sympathised with Shelton’s frustration, stating: “If I’m Ben Shelton, I’m really furious right now that I’m not able to serve it out.
“Four points, four serves, it could be over. I would have preferred to play it out, but you have to think of both players.
“If you’re Ben, I want my day off and want to properly prepare, and not have to feel like I’m getting ready for a match. If you’re confident, to serve it out in four points, maybe five max.
Ben Shelton of United States speaks with officials after play was suspended (Getty Images)
“I want that day’s rest, it’s a marathon, not a sprint, these are the days you count on, your days off, Ben is really looking forward to, more so than the later rounds.”
While James Blake added: “A bad decision forced another bad decision… They could’ve stopped at the end of the second set or at 4-2.”
And another former US player Mardy Fish backed Shelton to finish the match in style on Friday: “Ain’t a doubt in my mind Ben will come out and bust four aces. Little hit and giggle tomorrow stud.”
