MELBOURNE, Australia -- As Nick Kyrgios was walking into position early in the third set of his second-round match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, a group of seven Australian fans stood and started chanting in unison:
"Bad boy, Bad boy, what you gonna do, what you gonna do when they come for you."
Kyrgios couldn't resist cracking a big smile.
He smiled, perhaps, because of the irony: Kyrgios has been long known as the bad boy of Australian tennis, but the chant was directed at actor Will Smith, who was courtside taking in last night's third-round match.
Whether you love Kyrgios or hate him -- and if you read the comments section at the end of any Australian newspaper story that mentions him, you know he has quite a few haters -- you can't knock his conduct during the first week of the Australian Open.
There was barely a side-eye from Kyrgios during the course of his four-set win -- 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (6) 7-6 (5) -- over Tsonga that sent the 22-year-old Australian into the round of 16 of a Grand Slam tournament for just the third time of his career. (He advanced to the quarterfinals here in 2015 and at Wimbledon in 2014.)
He's the only Australian player remaining in the tournament and gives the hometown fans continued hope of a men's singles winner in the tournament for the first time in 42 years.
Australian tennis fans don't have to forget the cheap-shot allegations Kyrgios made in 2015 about Stan Wawrinka's girlfriend, the numerous on-court tantrums and the blatant tanking during a 2016 tournament in Shanghai. Those were all embarrassments to the sport, and all the criticism and condemnation that resulted was well deserved.
But fans can make an attempt to forgive if Kyrgios is making strides to clean up his image. It's not a transformation that happens completely overnight. (He reportedly used obscenities when speaking to a chair umpire during a doubles match Thursday.) But in winning his three singles matches this week, Kyrgios has been largely incident-free.
That allows us to appreciate his tennis, which is how it should be because his talent has never been in doubt. That talent and his mental toughness were on display Friday night as Kyrgios fell behind 5-2 in the fourth-set tiebreaker.
"I was kind of getting ready for a fifth set mentally," Kyrgios said.
He was able to avoid a deciding set by taking the next five points, eventually winning the match on a Tsonga unforced error.
A quick glance at some of the final stats leaves one pondering just how Kyrgios won in four sets. Tsonga had more winners (70-54), won a higher percentage of points on first serve (87 percent to 79 percent for Kyrgios) and won more points (144-142).
Even though Tsonga dictated a slow, methodical, almost exhibitionlike pace for much of the night, it was the youthful energy of Kyrgios that helped him persevere.
The affinity Kyrgios has had for Tsonga has been well documented. The then 12-year-old Kyrgios stalked the Frenchmen during the 2008 Australian Open, watched all of his practices and sought his autograph. At the end of Friday's often tense match, the two embraced at the net.
"It's grateful for me," Tsonga said, when asked about Kyrgios looking up to him as a kid. "It means that I touched some guys when they were young, and they wanted to become a player like me."
When it comes to attempting to be a player like Tsonga, Kyrgios has that part down.
Being the classy, well-respected individual Tsonga has been during his entire career, though, that has been problematic for the Aussie.
But this week, so far, has been different.
Perhaps it's winning his three matches this week that has Kyrgios in a good place.
Perhaps it's ending his five-match losing streak against top-20 players at majors (Tsonga is No. 15).
Perhaps it's been the love of the crowds that shifted from Hisense Arena for his first two matches into Rod Laver Arena for Friday's match.
While everyone's trying to pinpoint why Kyrgios is suddenly different, he'd like to think he hasn't changed a bit.
"It's not something I wake up and I'm like, 'Look, today, I'm trying to change the perception,'" Kyrgios said. "I've always played the same way. Nothing has changed. ... I feel like I've always been a caring person. I guess it's just how you guys perceive me."
That perception is based on the reality of some of the incidents that have surrounded Kyrgios. Incidents that have pegged him as a bad boy, which, coincidentally, is the title of a 1996 movie that featured Smith.
"He's, like, one of my favorite actors," Kyrgios said of Smith, who is in Australia for the first time shooting a movie. "I get asked 'if one person were acting your life,' and I always pick him. It was surreal seeing him. I met him after the match. He was really genuine."
That's genuine, in a good way. Which hasn't always been associated with Kyrgios.
His actions have cost him money, sponsorships and fans.
Is that guy gone?
Perhaps he might surface if Kyrgios hits a rough stretch during what's going to be a tough match against No. 3 seed Grigor Dimitrov in the next round.
But until that old Kyrgios resurfaces?
Let's try to give the kid a chance.