The notorious self-confidence of Nick Kyrgios was on full display after his straight-sets win over Filip Krajinovic at Wimbledon on Thursday.
The brash Australian described himself as "one of most important people" in tennis as he hit out at critics following his controversial antics in his first-round match against Paul Jubb. Kyrgios, 27, spat in the direction of a fan and became embroiled in an ongoing verbal battle with officials before coming through in five-sets.
Afterwards, he was unapologetic for his actions, claiming he had been the victim of 'racial slurs' from spectators. Regardless, he was fined £8,200 for his troubles, by far the biggest punishment dished out at the Championships so far this week.
It follows a year where he has already had to pay out thousands in fines for misdemeanours at Indian Wells and the Miami Open. But against Serbian player Krajinovic, he was on his best behaviour as he notched a dominant 6-2 6-3 6-1 victory.
His new-found restraint didn't extend to his post-match press conference though, where he accused journalists and fans of unfairly targeting him: "Some people love to just tear me down. It's just not possible anymore," he said.
"I know what I bring to the sport. I'm one of the most important people in the sport. Do you want to speak about that? Nothing to investigate there because it's just factual.
"I'm extremely confident in myself. All the challenges I've overcome in my life. I'm proud to be up here and doing it my own way. Being able to produce tennis like that at Wimbledon, it's a dream come true for any tennis player."
On Saturday, the maverick will face his toughest test yet in the tournament when he plays Stefanos Tsitsipas. The Greek star is seeded fourth at SW19, a ranking already enhanced by the withdrawal of Matteo Berrettini.
Kyrgios is now two wins from equalling his best effort at the iconic grass-court championships, having beaten Rafael Nadal en route to the quarter finals in 2014. His talent has long been considered mercurial, but his application is regularly questioned by pundits.
But the Australian argued his performances rarely get the praise they merit, adding: "I didn't want to remind people that I'm good; I know that I'm good. I just feel like people just don't give me the respect sometimes because of other things that I do.
"There was just nothing the media possibly could tell me I did wrong today. I just know that you can't possibly ask me anything and stir anything up. And I love it because then you can't write anything.
"What are you going to say? Nothing today. Dumbfounded all of you. Today from the get-go, I just felt really good. From the back of the court I felt like I really returned well. I was just very just locked in.
