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Nick Kyrgios has saved two match points to secure a miraculous second-round Australian Open win against Ugo Humbert.

Freewheeling Nick Kyrgios has saved two match points and then the contest to down Ugo Humbert in a heart-stopping Australian Open five-setter.

The 25-year-old Canberran looked set for a second-round departure when Humbert served for the match at 5-4 in the fourth set.

But he dug deep with the help of a roaring crowd to win the epic encounter 5-7 6-4 3-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 on Wednesday night.

Kyrgios peeled off three winners to level the fourth set and won the ensuing tiebreak and decider to set up a third-round encounter with last year's Australian Open finalist Dominic Thiem.

"If you were in my head, I was just thinking about all the s*** I was going to cop if I lost that match," Kyrgios told the Nine Network after the match.

"I don't know how I did that, honestly, it's one of the craziest matches I've ever played."

"I live to fight another day and hopefully I can continue to play tennis in front of you guys."

It had been a stark turnaround for Kyrgios.

His game and temperament looked to have unravelled when he lost a run of four consecutive games across the third and fourth sets, leaving Humbert seemingly poised to win the contest.

Amid that lapse, Kyrgios was docked a point after a second infringement in which he smashed the ball away at the end of his service game.

It followed a series of issues he had with the net-cord sensor, Kyrgios at one stage telling chair umpire Mariana Alves that he was "not playing until you turn it off."

But in truth, the theatrics were just a sideshow as the unflappable Frenchman had played at a consistently high level, frequently picking Kyrgios's wide serves to his backhand and ripping spectacular winners off the forehand wing.

After a first set seemingly lost from thin air, Kyrgios smashed his racquet to accrue an initial warning. He then claimed an early break in the second to eventually level the match.

Things then got a bit weird.

A series of questionable shot choices and some fine groundwork by Humbert earned him seven consecutive points and a two-sets-to-one lead.

With two double faults to start the fourth set, Kyrgios then handed over a break and looked likely to be leaving the tournament before his stunning rearguard.

He will now meet Thiem in the third round.

"He's one of the best players in the world," said Kyrgios, wiping sweat from his brow.

"I'm not even going to think about that."