Bouchard believes tennis needs bad boys like Nick Kyrgios

Not everyone is a fan of Nick Kyrgios, but Canadian tennis player Eugenie Bouchard believes the Australian is good for the game.

In his most recent outburst, the volatile Kyrgios exploded at the umpire during his opening round match against Reilly Opelka at the National Bank Open (Rogers Cup). During the second set tiebreak, Opelka appeared to touch the net with his foot as he raced forward to put away an easy ball. However, the umpire claims not to have seen anything, which led to Kyrgios exploding at her, using some colorful language to express his feelings on the situation. The World No.77 would go on to lose the tiebreak, and eventually the match in three sets.

Despite his irreverent behavior, Bouchard believes that Kyrgios is good for the game.

"I don’t think Reilly Opelka touched the net. Nick Kyrgios was just finding and picking things to get angry on," admitted Bouchard in an interview on Tennis Channel. "But it’s still entertaining. I’m still a fan. I think tennis needs a bad guy like Nick."

Perhaps the Canadian has a valid point, as the majority of tennis players tend to hide their true emotions during play whereas an open book like Kyrgios would keep fans entertained regardless of a match's outcome.