Facing the prospect of falling out of the world's top 50 for the first time in nearly four years didn't seem to faze Nick Kyrgios.
However, shortcuts were taken as headlines returned in quick time when the Australian declared he "couldn't care less" about his rankings.
"I’ve got a fair shot if I play the right style of tennis and I’m feeling good... but at this age, I’m not even thinking about it," he told reporters after his bid to defend his Brisbane title ended with a second-round defeat to Jeremy Chardy.
The rankings drop leaves Kyrgios vulnerable to a first-round match-up against a top seed at the Australian Open.
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Regardless, the comments sparked the inevitable furore, but tennis expert and coach Roger Rasheed downplayed the rankings slide, saying Kyrgios will remain an ever-present threat to any player should he draw anyone in the ballpark of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer at Melbourne Park
"That's the nature of tennis. It's a 12 month cycle. [Kyrgios] had to defend 250 points, and he didn't do that," Rasheed told Big Sports Breakfast.
"There'll be a dip in the rankings, but it's easy to pick them up again... but he needed to defend [in Brisbane] and get a seed, so he could play Novak or Roger in the first round [in Melbourne].
"He's in the laps of the gods as fair as seedings go... but it makes him a dangerous floater. The seeded players would rather have Nick seeded. A night match at Melbourne Park against Nick is a dangerous prospect.
"The rankings look after themselves once you get wins. He's not dictated by the number near his name at the moment."
However, having coached the likes of Lleyton Hewitt, Grigor Dimitrov, Gael Monfils and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Rasheed has been exposed to players battling with their profession, and how they remain engaged with tennis.
Djokovic and Federer, among others, toiled through long injury-riddled patches, only to fight their way back to the top.
Only yesterday did Rafael Nadal withdraw from Brisbane with a minor thigh strain, and remained confident in landing some heavy blows in Melbourne.
Given Kyrgios' propensity to let his emotions take hold during matches - earning the ire of big names - the 23-year-old sought psychological advice late last year to overcome his mental barriers.
Rasheed conceded that, unlike the greats, Kyrgios is yet to fully engage with all facets of his professional life. Should he do so, it would steer him in a more successful direction.
"Sport is interesting... there's a big piece of the pie, but not everyone has part of that pie," Rasheed said.
"There's a talent pool, but there might be another area where they don't necessarily engage.
"They play sport, they love it for a while, then it becomes a business to them and it tarnishes how they feel about the sport.
"They know they're super talented, but they stay in there because they don't know what else to do.
"We'd all like every athlete we watch with super talent to just, you know, 'come on, do you know what you've got at your disposal?' Of course they know what they've got.
"[But] that's why the greats are the greats. Every single piece of sporting brilliance they own, they tend to engage in."
Kyrgios' preparation for the first major of the year has been far from ideal - he was hospitalised during the Christmas period when a copped a spider bite, received attention to his right knee during his win over Ryan Harrison on Tuesday, and again during the Chardy match. After the Chardy match, Kyrgios' wrist was also being iced.
After the Harrison match, everything looked up for the Aussie. 24 hours later, the mood shifted as Chardy battled to a 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 6-3 boilover.
"[Kyrgios] didn't get the free points that he had in the first round when he served 44 aces... Chardy out-served him," Rasheed said.
"It was always going to be a tight tennis match. When you're talking tight tennis matches, anything can happen... Chardy just stayed in the games very well.
"When he got access to the points off Nick's serve, he actually made something happen, and that was generally the difference.
"Look at how many points were played versus how many weren't played the day before, it makes a difference to what the game looks like.
"It wasn't ideal from Nick's side of the court, but that's a transition from the start of the year... this time last year, he looked sharp, and also had a little niggle through the early stages of Brisbane but actually won.
"It gives him time to get on the board on sharpen up for Melbourne."
