Nick Kyrgios breaks rules Roger Federer would never do with willful disregard for Wimbledon

What does that mean? Is all publicity good publicity? Keep doing you, then, champ! The words Nick Kyrgios said to me the night before must have come to mind as the Canberra Times story broke.

The 27-year-old is due to appear in Canberra District Court over allegations of assault against his ex-girlfriend Chiara Passari. Is that why Nike pays the top prize to world number 40?

Or it's to stomp around in his bright red Jordans (kerching!) at his host's polite request that the players wear all-white tennis attire as they vie for a share of the over 40 million pot of pounds from the All England Lawn Tennis Club to accumulate money.

Roger Federer accepts the rules, even Serena Williams. Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray. Kyrgios, meanwhile, "does what he wants". His own words.

Many took umbrage on social media when I called Kyrgios over what is, after all, just a minor dress code technicality. But it was the underlying need to show such deliberate and planned disregard for the establishment that I was interested in identifying.

He is a player who spits at fans, intimidates opponents and rants at officials. And it's only this fortnight. Unsurprisingly, it gives reporters a similar lack of distrust.

So you're above the rules? "No. I'm not above the rules. They don't apply to you? "Well, I just like to wear my Jordans."

That's good then. So everyone in both draws follows the rules, but not Nick Kyrgios? "Nobody else really walks with Jordans on the court."

That's when he came across the 'publicity' cliche which hopefully gives him pause in light of the serious allegations made in Canberra.

What Kyrgios gets is cheap publicity. Easy advertising. The kind of publicity you otherwise get when you scramble to break into the global elite.

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I was lucky enough to be on the edge of the pitch for Kyrgios' sublime introduction to the rest of the world in 2014 when he swept Nadal off center court.

As euphoria reigned that he had finally found the man to topple tennis' Big Three, Nadal's calm words in defeat were spoken with wisdom.

"When you see a young player coming onto the circuit and playing a big game or playing a big tournament, people say he will be the next big star," said the Spaniard.

"Sport is often a mental game. We will see if he is able to continue playing the last tricks in the future."

The irony is that for all the wonderful tennis Kyrgios has yet produced this fortnight, there are no ranking points to be earned to propel him to the top of the game.

So Kyrgios, who peaked at No. 13 in the world six years ago, may never grow up to realize this immense talent.

Instead, he will continue to argue, moan, infuriate, bully, and distract and refuse to be held accountable for it all. Carry on, champ!