I have no argument that what he did in the second set against Richard Gasquet looked bad — it is simply unacceptable to just gift your opponents points in the manner in which he did it.

But the torrents of “tsk-tsk Nick” on social media and in the mainstream media was well beyond the pale.

By all means criticise but where were those same people when he was clearly fighting hard in the third and fourth sets?

And let’s not even start on Dawn Fraser’s awful, disgusting and downright vile attack on television, suggesting that he and Bernard Tomic should “go back to where their fathers or parents came from”.

People seem to conveniently forget the kid is just 20 years old, he barely knows himself, any wonder he professed “I don’t really like the sport of tennis that much”.

Those same critics would no doubt also conveniently not recall such champions as Roger Federer, Andre Agassi and yes, even our own “little Aussie battler” Lleyton Hewitt were all self-confessed “tennis brats” before they matured and realised it was only hard work and commitment that would truly fulfil their elite talent.

How Kyrgios reacts and learns from situations like this will be crucial to his playing future.

In the meantime, let the kid breathe, I’d much rather watch an entertainer than some of the robot-like players getting around.

— LAURENCE BIRD,

Wodonga