In the long history of tennis there have been good boys, not-so-good boys, and then there have been the downright bad boys.

The likes of John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Ille Nastase et al, all known for tearing up the court, but all known for their immense talent as well.

Loved and hated in equal measure they were all respected because unlike so many they had the game to back up their sometimes petulant behaviour.

Others have just been downright bad, and have slipped from the memory, remembered as nothing more than an irritating aside in a semi-important tournament.

And then there are the likes of Daniel Koellerer, the Austrian, a complete enigma. For those in the know his game yesterday against Nicolas Massu was the one to watch, and not necessarily for the right reasons.

You know that you picked the game of the day when all the players stop what they are doing and come to watch as well.

Koellerer has something of a reputation on tour; he is according to various reports, obnoxious, arrogant, foul-mouthed, rude, and generally dislikeable.

Last year in the XL Open he apparently reduced a ball girl to tears by hitting a ball straight at her in a moment of frustration that was the least of his infractions.

This year the tournament was prepared. The best ball boys and girls where assigned to his game, with instructions, issued only half jokingly, to watch for low flying rackets.

Roger Pennington a man considered to be a strong enough hand to deal with the worst of players was installed as umpire.

And a game that arguably could have been the evening attraction on centre court, was put on early afternoon on court five.

After all, Massu has been in the top 50 for the past five years, and claimed gold in the singles and doubles at the Olympics in Greece.

Koellerer, too, is no slouch. He has been a past quarter-finalist in Bermuda, and this year has reached semi-finals in Bogota and Morocco.

He is also the most frustrating player in the tournament. He has talent, not as much as the greats, but enough to have a good career. But he also has a very serious attitude problem, something akin to a petulant child.

The Austrian took the first set against Massu 6-1, and did it playing some consistent, intelligent tennis.

There were very few outbursts, and contrary to expectation he was almost polite to the umpire, line judges and ball boys and girls.

And yet you got the impression that bubbling under the surface was a temper tantrum waiting to get out.

He also has a nice line in winding up opponents. A man that reportedly speaks seven different languages, and seems to be able to curse in twice as many can say things that the average umpire won't pick up.

At 2-0 down in the second set the devil began to appear, rackets were thrown, chairs kicked, and a stream of foreign invective rained down on the court.

A demand for a 'towel' from the ball boy was delivered in clipped Austrian, and managed to sound both efficient and rude at the same time.

A slow response was met with disapproval, and brought it's own response from the umpire.

"Maybe if you were a little nicer to them they'd do a better job for you," Pennington told him.

Warnings followed, and as the third set began to go the same way as the second, Koellerer experienced a convenient case of the cramps that delayed proceedings by a good five minutes.

Here then is the frustrating part. Down 4-1 in the final set, but level at one set apiece, he battled back to 4-3, and played some fine tennis into the bargain.

For a brief moment he forgot to complain, and argue, and demand, and just played tennis.

Fortunately for Massu the change didn't last long and the Chilean finally closed out the game to win 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, in a hot, tense, and stress-filled two-and-a-half hours.

It would be wrong not to point out that Massu also has a bit of a temper.

Although he tends to confine his outburst to berating himself, it is still there. But it paled into comparison to his opponent's many rants.

"I didn't start off very well, and the first set was a struggle," said Massu.

"But I had more energy in the second set, and sometimes to win games like this, in difficult conditions, can be very good for you.

"I don't want to talk about him (Koellerer).

"It is very, very difficult to play against that. Ask the referee what he thinks."

The referees aren't allowed to talk either, though you get the impression they would like to sometimes.

But an insight into Koellerer's character was delivered moments after the game when he cornered a match official to complain that Massu's shirt hadn't been 'white enough'.

Take the words petulant and child, and make up your own sentence to finish with.