By Kate Tan

Given the events of today, it's unlikely Nick Kyrgios will ever stop being a polarising figure.

When the history books detail a game of doubles in Miami featuring Kyrgios alongside Taylor Fritz, like many of his matches, it will be remembered for his on-court behaviour and not the result.

The Australian was visibly irritated by some calls from the chair, before he let fly at the umpire and called him a "f****** disgrace". 

It seems to be a tale as old as time with Kyrgios, but criticising every move he makes might not be justified.

Does he face double standards from the tennis world because of his reputation as the bad boy of the sport?

From winning a title in Acapulco to losing in the very first round at the Indian Wells Masters the following week, the Australian was called out once again for his unprofessional on-court behaviour.

This prompted Kyrgios to use twitter to hint at a possible double standard against him.

This all happened after Novak Djokovic, who was the favourite to win the title, lost to world no. 39 Philipp Kohlschreiber in the second round.

Kohlschreiber had earlier knocked Kyrgios out in the first round.

As usual, twitter went berserk, with fans blaming his loss as a ‘lack of professionalism’ and stated that Kyrgios’s title in Acapulco was an act of ‘showmanship’.

The enigmatic Aussie added a little bit of spice into the discussion of Djokovic’s performance as he taunted veteran tennis media personality Craig Gabriel’s tweet concerning Djokovic’s health status.

Kyrgios’ tweet was not taken well by fans.

However, some fans do back Kyrgios's belief that double standards are being promoted within the tennis world.

Due to his dynamic behaviour on court, he attracts attention every time he steps out to play.

Over the years, it has been observed that Kyrgios likes to launch himself into the spotlight. He raises his game based on the opponent he faces.

He won all his first encounters with Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic and is yet to lose a match against the Serb.

The tougher the opponent, the higher is Kyrgios’ level of play. Looking at the route to his last title in Acapulco, he defeated three top 10 players, namely Rafael Nadal, Stan Wawrinka, and Alexander Zverev.

In fact, if we were to look back over all five of his title runs, he defeated numerous top players on every occasion.

However, almost every match Kyrgios plays comes with a side-serve of drama. We've come to expect it and today was no exception. After the doubles match dissolved into criticising the umpire, Kyrgios even performed what's becoming a near trademark racquet-smash.

Less than a month ago Nadal, who is known for being humble and respectful of his opponents, fired shots at Kyrgios after he was defeated by the Australian in an upset in Acapulco.  

“He lacks respect for the crowd, his opponent and towards himself,” Nadal told the subsequent press conference.

Kyrgios’ on-court attitude during their encounter at Acapulco had surely rattled the Spaniard.

During the match the Australian shouted at the crowd. He received a warning in the second set. In the last set, he complained to the chair umpire about Nadal’s ‘routine’ before receiving his serve. Adding to the drama Kyrgios tried a controversial underarm serve and, despite failing, it was successful in getting people talking.

The 23-year-old has made it clear he is not afraid of making himself an enemy of tennis elites. When asked about Nadal’s criticism towards him, Kyrgios said that he 'doesn’t care’ if people do not like him.

It is a popular opinion that his indifference towards the sport fuels his on-court arrogance. It has essentially become an element of his game: the racquet smashes, the jibes at the fans in the stadium, and the confrontations with umpires.

Under the long reign of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, tennis became a gentleman’s game. Kyrgios and his bad boy antics have broken that tradition and the audience is still coming to terms with the changing state-of-play.

Kyrgios will turn 24 next month, meaning he's still relatively young in the modern tennis world. We've had glimpses of the bad boy maturing. He's told us he will take control of his career, find enjoyment in the sport and that he will focus on mental health issues "he probably left too long".

He realises his game must change and there are plenty of youngsters who look up to him as a role model.

However, Kyrgios can be certain of one thing; every move will be watched and analysed and will no doubt continue to raise the question of the tennis world's double standards.