Nick Kyrgios is controversial because he wants to be controversial. Sometimes it's fun to watch. Other times it's cringeworthy. He turned twenty-five this week and I'm the one with the birthday wish. I hope this marks a period of Nick Kyrgios taking a step forward. 

By age twenty-five, Roger Federer had eight major titles. When Rafael Nadal turned twenty-five, that week he won his 10th major title. Novak Djokovic had five major titles by the time he turned twenty-five. 

Nick Kyrgios has not been in the top ten. He is so talented. He is so good for the sport. And At heart, he's a good person. He turned twenty-five this week and the big story was he and another player were pranking each other: Nick Kyrgios' phone number ended up on social media and it made for a good laugh. But let that not mask the fact that at age twenty-five it's time he tapped into that talent and took a step on the way to greatness. And hopefully he'll see this birthday as a real milestone, not just personally, but for his tennis and professionalism too.