Monday 17 October 2016 09:35, UK
Nick Kyrgios, the pantomime villain with a racquet as his prop, has again whipped his audience into a frenzy – but if he doesn’t care about us, why are we so fascinated by his every misdemeanour?
The concept of a tortured genius has forever been appealing, from music to football… to tennis. Kyrgios is not the first rebel with a racquet and it's worth remembering that some of the sport's most iconic names were frequently lamented for their attitudes.
That's not to excuse Kyrgios for the crimes for which he has been charged: most recently, throwing a game by trudging back to his seat midway through a point at the Shanghai Masters. He chucked in a barney with a courtside supporter for good measure, before using his post-match press conference to explain how he doesn't owe fans anything.
'Tanking' is no minor issue. Intentionally dropping a point or a game can blur the line towards illegality and it has always been a contentious topic in the tennis world so Kyrgios' brazen serve to Mischa Zverev on Wednesday, where he deliberately gift-wrapped his opponent the point, must be stamped out. But the rest?
Nobody buys tickets to a Kyrgios match to watch a stroke-perfect demonstration of technique. The loudmouth Australian brings drama and pizzazz, and embraces the role of the bad-guy. Love him or loathe him (as the majority seem to), nobody is ignoring him.
Far from short-changing the paying punters, an afternoon of tennis including a Kyrgios outing should be one of the most desired tickets in the sport. Whatever he does it's unlikely to be forgotten in a hurry whether it's another bizarre meltdown or a shock victory over a top contender, such as the result against Rafa Nadal at Wimbledon in 2014 that kick-started his career.
As for his back-chat to umpires, John McEnroe and Andre Agassi had delicate relationships with the rulebook for large parts of their magnificent careers but time has been their friend. Even Andy Murray drew the public's ire in the earlier years before maturing into today's three-time Grand Slam champion, although his discrepancies were never as petulant as Kyrgios'.
World No 14 aged just 21, he is as likely to break a world record for smashing racquets as he is to win a Grand Slam but therein lies Kyrgios' unique allure. Like a car crash, you cannot take your eyes off him for fear of missing something - and that's not a bad reputation to hold.
"I don't owe [the fans] anything," he said on Wednesday. "It's my choice. If you don't like it, I didn't ask you to come watch. Just leave." But there will be clamour to attend Kyrgios' next match because there always is. You just don't know what you might miss…
