Kyrgios beating Nadal gave him an inflated view of himself: Laver

Tennis legend Rod Laver believes the worst thing to happen to controversial player Nick Kyrgios's young career so far was the upset triumph over Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon last year.

"His (Kyrgios) charisma is that he likes to show off all the shots he's got. I think, because he won at Wimbledon against Nadal, he feels like it's gone up a little further," Laver was quoted as saying by Herald Sun on Monday.

"That's where he's got to understand that that type of showmanship doesn't win matches. You need a whole range of different shots to win a match," he said.

Laver also made the stunning claim that Kyrgios blew the US Open title victory with a cavalier first round loss to Andy Murray.

Speaking in China at the Australian Open 2016 launch, Laver, 11-time Major champion, said Kyrgios's extravagant and often low percentage shot selection killed a golden opportunity to beat Andy Murray in the US Open first round.

"The last US Open, he could have won the tournament but he comes to the net (in the first round against Andy Murray) and he's half-volleying it between his legs," the 77-year-old Laver said.

Kyrgios recently received his second code violation warning inside a week after swearing loudly at the Shanghai Masters.

The dual Grand Slam quarter-finalist is on probation for the remarks he made to Swiss tennis star Stanislas Wawrinka in Montreal.

If he breaches the conditions, he faces a six-month ban and a $25,000 fine.