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The 21-year-old and Tomic were warned by Australia's Olympic
chef de mission Kitty Chiller at the weekend that they were
among a group of athletes whose behavior was being monitored to
judge their suitability for the Rio team.
"If you don't want to pick me or Bernard, there are plenty of
others you can pick to represent your country as well," Kyrgios
told reporters after winning his opening match at the Italian
Open in Rome on Monday.
"If you don't want two of the best players in Australia to
represent your country, so be it."
Kyrgios, Australia's highest ranked player at number 20 in the
world, combines a rare tennis talent with a reputation for
firing insults at fellow players, officials and fans.
It is Tomic, however, who has been most under fire in Australia
in recent weeks, continuing an unhappy relationship with the
local media that goes back several years.
The world number 22 was lambasted last week for holding his
racket by the strings and not offering a shot when facing match
point against Fabio Fognini at the Madrid Open.
Tomic's response -- "Would you care if you were 23 and worth
over $10 million?" -- was described as "appalling" by Chiller
and the criticism intensified when he pulled out of his opening
match in Rome after just eight minutes, citing illness.
Kyrgios, who was criticized by Tomic for skipping a Davis Cup
match in March because of illness, defended his fellow young gun
against the charges that he had "tanked" the match.
"Yeah, for sure I think ... the behavior has to be monitored
going into the Olympics, representing your country," Kyrgios
added.
"But, you know at the same time I think, with Bernard's case
with that match point - I mean, it's not easy playing Fabio on
clay. It's Bernard's least preferred surface.
"I'm sure he competed nearly every other point in the match. I
don't really know what he was doing, but that one point he gets
scorched for when he probably tried his heart out the rest of
the match."
Tennis Australia nominates athletes for Olympic selection and
Kyrgios and Tomic are likely to head their picks for the Aug.
5-21 Games.
In Tomic's case the point may be moot with the Australian
newspaper reporting he had signed up to play in a tournament in
Los Cabos, Mexico that takes place during the Games.
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney in Sydney, editing by Peter
Rutherford)
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