WIMBLEDON, England—Nick Kyrgios says that he will continue being himself despite recent controversies about the young Australian's behavior.

Kyrgios made waves at the Australian Open both for reaching the quarterfinals and his angry remonstrations during matches, both at officials and spectators. He came into Wimbledon having said he was mentally disinterested during his match against Stanislas Wawrinka at Queen's, and gave an interview saying he liked basketball better than tennis.

During his opening-round win at Wimbledon, the 20-year-old again became involved in an exchange with the umpire, and is likely to be fined for various on-court comments.

"I play the sport the way I play it. I'm not going to change, you know," he said following his 6-0, 6-2, 7-6 win over Diego Schwartzman. "I think the sport needs characters. I feel like, you know, it's good when you see someone [who] just plays the game the way they play it, doesn't really worry about other stuff when they're out there."

Fellow Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis said Kyrgios, who beat Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon last year, tends to speak and act spontaneously.

"I think if you asked him when he beat Nadal if he liked tennis I think he would have said yes. It's just tennis players sometimes get moody. Win a few matches you're happy, lose some, you don't like the sport, that's how it works," Kokkinakis said. "I think he does like the sport, but he also likes basketball."

Today, Kyrgios gave some complimentary words to compatriot Lleyton Hewitt, who lost in the first round in what will be his last Wimbledon. The 34-year-old won Wimbledon in 2002 and was ranked No. 1 for 80 weeks. He fell 11-9 in the fifth set to Jarkko Nieminen in the first round.

"He's huge. His attitude and competitiveness I think is second to none," Kyrgios said. "Maybe Rafa [Nadal] and him are the greatest competitors of all time. When you got him still playing Davis Cup, leading the charge, I think when he's training and you watch that, it's pretty special. I think it carries a little bit towards us guys."

Hewitt will play doubles at Wimbledon with Kokkinakis. The 19-year-old also said Hewitt has been inspirational, but he doesn't recall the 2002 Wimbledon victory that well. "Not a lot," Kokkinakis said. "Just that he had a shaved head and he beat [David] Nalbandian in the final. That's it pretty much."