How dare you say that, Nick Kyrgios

The 'dirty scum' outburst is reprehensible. So too is the lame, pathetic excuse that it was merely self admonishment. He must think that everyone is as stupid as he is.

Please.... I just, urgh I cant even be bothered defending him. If you don't like the raw passion and naturally immature and arrogant behavior that comes with being a young, rich man being thrust into the limelight (something i would say 99% of us don't understand); than maybe look over the draw and look for the matches with older, less interested and passionate players? Problem is, even the most respected tennis players argue and become aggressive with umpires. Nothing to see here, its just part of tennis. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-pjB2i9azg

So does that mean I can now call Nick Dirty Scum without fear of deformation action?

Their are a lot more things to worry about than a Nick Kyrgios outburst. Tennis Australia need to show leadership, what about the children argument lol. Frankly I couldn't care less. We have had plenty of players in the past who have spat the dummy. If he gets a fine, no worries. Move on. Life is too short, especially when we already have too much political correctness in the world. The sport of tennis needs more individuals and characters and I hope that Nick doesn't change who he is just to appease people like you. Stay true to yourself Nick.

Agreed. Tennis is a very conservative game though, and anything that disrupts the establishment is considered a big NO NO. Worse things are said by players in every football, cricket, AFL, Rugby, Basketball match. But we like our tennis stars white and pure, apparently. Its just hypocritical from most fans to be honest. So what I'd he never wins a major?

He was and still is a promising star, but i look at hime some times now and see a bit of arrogance and "prickness" that i see in Bernard Tomic

Meh, tennis has always condoned petulant arguing with the ref, so petulant arguing with the ref is what you get.

Unlike you guys up on your high horses I can actually see that Nick's "bad behaviour" is principally for show purposes. If you wan't to gauge what he is really like then look at how he treats his competitors with respect, unlike that real brat Tomic. Underneath he is a fat bullied kid that worked his ass off to get where he is. Simple fact is that tennis needs more colour, but tradition spoils what could be should be a wonderfully passionate sport. I congratulate him for choosing such a difficult path that will often see him step over the line into villainy. After all without villains you cant have heroes!

There are worrying signs that Kyrios does not have the temperament to make it to the highest level, which is a shame because on pure ability he is an extraordinary player. But these expectations may not be his, and are simply fuelled by a nation (and nation's media) that wants another tennis hero that we can follow, like Hewitt and Rafter and Cash and co. If you hear any of his post-match media interviews, especially when he loses, he seems like he's happy to be the next Henri Leconte, the bloke who is out there to entertain but not seriously contend for a major. He says he'd rather play basketball than tennis, that he's not going to change, and while he's still a very young man, I don't remember a young Rafa Nadal, Roger Federer, or even Lleyton Hewitt uttering anything like this as they made their way onto the pro-circuit. The young bloke that does impress me is Kokkinakis, who has a great game and a temperament to be around for a long time.

I'm not too sure on why people are jumping all over this issue. It was the umpire's fault here, and sure Kyrgios did exaggerate but that's just who he is. A kid with a head full of confidence and a little swagger about himself. We all know that some of us have hot-heads that can be hard to control in the heat of the moment, but this whole tennis Australia getting involve garbage is just idiotic. An instance where such a body should be involved is for legitimate conduct breaking behaviour (e.g. David Nalbandian hitting and injuring a linesman)

He's basically acting like any 20 year old who became a celebrity overnight and is still getting used to it would.

Yep ! Just another in the long, long line of overpaid prima donnas that is now the domain of world tennis in general, and especially applying to Australian tennis and the regular arrival of our marketed "next big things " !!

i feel like respect for the officials is not entirely instilled in tennis players from a young age...

Brattiness is not new to tennis. It has been romanticised in players such as McEnroe, Connors and Nastase. Is anyone surprised by Kyrgios' behaviour? This is not to excuse him, but young players, by-and-large, thrust into the limelight so early are ill-equipped to handle it. These sort of outbursts are simply a manifestation of their inability to cope with the pressure of being an elite sportsman. Just as Hewitt, and to a lesser extent Rafter, were once considered "brash" young Aussies, Kyrgios, in time will follow a similar path from brat to humble elder statesman.

Wasn't it a year or so ago that people were hailing Kyrgios as a breath of fresh air and all that? I don't have an opinion on the lad one way of the other, but I do find it funny that public perception of top athletes, or anyone in the limelight is almost always determined by what the media thinks of them.

Point 1: Disagree. This is an appropriate reaction to a spoilt brat. It's astonishing that he did this less than 24 horus after Andrew Webster all but predicted he would. Acting within the rules is one thing, acting within them while behaving like a civilised adult is another. He flatly failed to do the letter. In every sport you are told to respect the umpire/official. He didn't, and instead elected to behave like a 4 year old and suck. We've all seen much worse behaviour, we've also seen better behaviour that was not tolerated either. Point 2: Agree 100%, but it doesn't excuse abysmal manners. Point 3: Agree on the bit about TA, disagree with the punishment for the offense. Tennis has astoundingly lax punishments for fear of alienating the players and them skipping big tournaments. They should grow a pair and start suspending players for a tournament here or there, so that their ranking suffers.

Yeah he lost in straight sets, but the first two sets were tie breakers and he lost the third set 6-4. Kokkinakis just needs to keep on improving.

Unfortunately he did lose to Leonardo Mayer last night - tough match to get first up.

I agree, the bloke has been acting like a jerk for ages...

Kokkinakis, not Kyrios will be the 'next big thing'.