Tennis-Kyrgios the talk of Wimbledon, Cash leads chorus of disapproval

Not since the days of John McEnroe's tantrums has a player polarised opinion as much as Kyrgios, who is bidding to reach the quarter-finals for the second time. Fellow Australian Pat Cash, Wimbledon champion in 1987, led the chorus of disapproval after Kyrgios's toxic third-round clash with Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas on Saturday -- a match which showcased the good, the bad and the ugly of the 27-year-old.

Nick Kyrgios topped the bill on Centre Court on Monday even though Rafa Nadal is on the schedule later as the Australian lightning rod continued to be the talk of Wimbledon. Not since the days of John McEnroe's tantrums has a player polarised opinion as much as Kyrgios, who is bidding to reach the quarter-finals for the second time.

Fellow Australian Pat Cash, Wimbledon champion in 1987, led the chorus of disapproval after Kyrgios's toxic third-round clash with Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas on Saturday -- a match which showcased the good, the bad and the ugly of the 27-year-old. Fourth seed Tsitsipas labelled Kyrgios a bully and said he has an 'evil' side to his personality as bad blood from that fiery clash continued into the post-match news conferences.

Cash, who was summarising for the BBC, said Kyrgios's behaviour had damaged the sport's standing. "He's brought tennis to the lowest level I can see as far as gamesmanship, cheating, manipulation, abuse, aggressive behaviour to umpires, to linesmen," Cash told the BBC.

"Something has got to be done about it. It's just an absolute circus. "It's gone to the absolute limit now." Kyrgios was fined $10,000 after his first-round match for spitting towards a fan, was warned for swearing on Saturday and then called for Tsitsipas to be defaulted after the Greek hit a ball close to a spectator's head after losing the second set.

Both players received fines on Sunday. Kyrgios, whose talent is undeniable, has a long rap sheet of previous brushes with authority, but judging by the buzz around Centre Court for his match against Brandon Nakashima on Monday, the fans find the maverick Australian compelling viewing.

"I think he's good for tennis, it adds a bit of excitement because you don't know what he's going to do next," Alan McIntire from Edinburgh said as he walked in to Centre Court. "Of course, Wimbledon is a bit traditional but I think to have a bad boy it's welcome in the sport. We spoke to 10 different groups of people today and everyone is mostly excited to see Kyrgios today, rather than Nadal.

"He's not respectful but if you don't want him to do it then you must impose bigger fines." Another fan, John Sharp from Canada, agreed and felt Kyrgios is not always judged fairly in the media.

"I think he's good for tennis. He has his faults for sure and he should be called on them," he said. "There were two sides to the story the other night and I only heard the side that went against Kyrgios.

"He's a showman ... he is a great tennis player and he doesn't follow the norms that others follow. But if he follows the rules I'm all for him." His wife disagreed. "I like a gentleman like Roger Federer. He is a proper sportsman," she said.

Cash played in an era when clashes with umpires were more common, but says what Kyrgios does is tantamount to "cheating". "Tsitsipas would make a line call and he'd go up there and start complaining, he'd be in his face - that's part of gamesmanship, that's the sort of stuff he does and I think there's a limit," Cash said.

Kyrgios was favourite to beat unseeded American Nakashima and reach his first Grand Slam singles quarter-final since 2015. "Let's hope he doesn't drop tennis there to a lower level than he did on Saturday," Cash said. (Additional reporting by Hritika Sharma in Hyderabad; Editing by Peter Rutherford and Ken Ferris )