Warne hands out life advice to Kyrgios

Australia's latest bad-boy sportsman has been handed a generous helping of advice from one of the old pros. In an open letter, Shane Warne has urged tennis player Nick Kyrgios to not "waste" his talent and earn "respect". And to stop "testing our patience".

A little while ago Kyrgios was in the news for his cheap jibe at Stanislas Wawrinka during a match, shows of petulance towards the officials and periods of sulking and perceived indifference on the court during Wimbledon. Mixed in among them was some inspiring tennis. Now, once again, he is in the spotlight for the wrong reasons - after his first-round US Open loss to Andy Murray, he extracted a wad of chewing gum from his mouth and handed it an assistant while he readied himself for a television interview.

"We all realise you're only 20 & have a lot to learn buddy," Warne wrote on Facebook. "But please don't waste your talent, everyone in the world, especially us Australians want to respect u. Remember respect is way more important than being liked, u need to respect the game of tennis & yourself.

"We all make mistakes, but it's how we learn from them & the way we conduct ourselves when we lose that shows true character. You're testing our patience mate, show us what you're made of & how hungry you are to be the best in the world, it's time to step up & start winning, no excuses. No shame in losing, but show us you will never give up, that you will give it everything to be the best you can be, respect is earned not given! I believe in you & know you can do it, but now's the time my friend..."

Wonder if Kyrgios has anything to say to that? We'll wait and watch.