Nick Kyrgios used to be an extremely polarizing figure that fans either loved or hated, though mostly it was the latter.
Kyrgios showed up in the tennis world as a supremely talented player but not very disciplined, at least in tennis terms. He used to be quite explosive on the court, both with his tennis but also his temper, which created plenty of controversies.
Fast forward to now, Kyrgios is a more mature person with a more balanced approach, though the fire and explosiveness do come out at times. In an interview with Piers Morgan, Kyrgios looked back on that time when he was the bad boy of tennis.
Back in the day when I used to show up to places it was like, even for practice, I needed extra security guards compared to the other players because of the hate. People used to hate seeing me on the courts. I used to be addicted, knowing it could spoil someone's day.
While that was fine for a while the bad boy image started to bother Kyrgios, he knew he wasn't a bad person but he was stuck with this image that he didn't want. Nowadays, it's a bit better as he redeemed himself in the last few years.
Sometimes, when I watch my highlights back and I realize, I probably should not have done that. There's some regret in some of my actions obviously. I'm not going to sit here and say it was always warranted.
He's basically universally loved as fans recognized the importance of a player like Kyrgios in modern tennis. Him becoming serious about his career didn't hurt as much. Now it's a totally different dynamic, one he prefers to the old one.
I used to love it. Not so much anymore. When I go out to stadiums around the world now it's like people are cheering, people are going crazy, people wanting to see the show and they're very supportive. Being loved is better, being appreciated and being supported.
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