Brown defends Kyrgios' on-court behavior: 'Let the guy play tennis'

LONDON—Dustin Brown, who played Nick Kyrgios in the second round of Wimbledon, believes there should be less scrutiny of the Australian and his on-court behavior.

Kyrgios defeated Brown in a shot-making-filled five-setter, arguing with the umpire occasionally along the way. Brown, who also had some conversations with the umpire, said displays of emotion are common on the tennis court, and just part of the 21-year-old’s style.

"I'm pretty sure everyone that knows Nick knows Nick is a great tennis player,” Brown said. “You know that if certain things happen or if there are a few bad calls—I mean, all of us have gotten upset on the court for bad calls, especially in certain moments. It's the same thing back in the day when [John] McEnroe was playing. You knew exactly what you were going to get."

Brown added that Kyrgios was likely to improve as he gained experience.

"I was not any better or worse at 21,” Brown said. “The guy is No. 18 in the world. The guy is 21. Let the guy play tennis. I am sure in a few years he will also have that sorted, and then he's going to be even better.”

The Jamaican-born German initially had to find a similar balance himself.

"I have been on the tour long enough," he said. "I'm pretty sure that, a few times in my career, I also went overboard with stuff like that. It started messing with my tennis.  Yeah, it doesn't happen anymore."

Kyrgios was questioned about his behavior in his press conference, and got involved in a back and forth about what he had said and his general reaction to disputed calls.

"I don't know why you guys always ask me these questions," he said. "There's plenty of players that ask the umpire questions. I'm not necessarily arguing with the umpire. I just want to hear what he thinks. I just want to tell him my opinion ... I thought my behavior was really good throughout the match. Obviously [it] went a little bit off-track towards the third. At the same time, I thought it was OK, to be honest.

"The crowd was loving it. I'm sure a lot of people around the world were watching."