It has been a week of tennis drama, backlit by Ilie Nastase’s sexist rants and Maria Sharapova’s dubious wild cards. With claims and counter-claims flying around the ether, we might have expected Nick Kyrgios – Australia’s serial controversialist – to pop up with a fiery outburst of his own.

Yet since the Australian Open – where he tumbled out with a snarl at the crowd and a jibe at commentator John McEnroe – all has been quiet on the Kyrgios front. His rockiest moment of the last three months came in Miami, when he dealt curtly with a clumsy ball-kid. Even there, he redeemed himself by handing the lad a souvenir towel as he left.

Could we be witnessing the turning point for Kyrgios? It feels as if he is sloughing off the old skin – moochy, rebellious man-boy – and growing up into the tennis titan he always threatened to be. And the more you look at his recent winning streak – which now extends to 12 straight victories against players not named Roger Federer – the more you feel that love might be the answer.