Nick Kyrgios has been the centre of attention for all the wrong reasons as of late, but the Australian bad boy believes that he is a much different person off the court.
Kyrgios: I am different off the court
Kyrgios was recently fined and suspended for 28 days after he told Stanislas Wawrinka that Thanasi Kokkinakis slept with his girlfriend during their Rogers Cup match in August.
The 20-year-old was also booed during his fourth round match against Richard Gasquet at Wimbledon as he appeared to tank a game after getting involved in a dispute with the chair umpire.
But, while Kyrgios reiterated that his behaviour on and off the court is very different, he still feels as if people constantly view him in a bad light.
"I'm very different off the court than I am on it," Kyrgios, who is on track to face Wawrinka in the final of the Japan Open, told reporters. "On the court, obviously I'm very intense and I show a lot of emotion. But off the court I'm very laid back, I like to relax and chill out. I'm definitely not a scary person. I feel as if I'm a nice person."
Kyrgios added that he has learnt from his mistakes in the past and is working his way towards becoming a more mature player.
"Definitely I feel I'm maturing and learning to find that balance between having fun and playing well," he said. "When I do that is when I play my best tennis."