As Nick Kyrgios prepares to take on Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the fourth round at Wimbledon on Monday, fans have been rallying behind the tennis star in the most unusual way: by smearing Vegemite on their faces.
"If you reply to this, I'll cover my face in Vegemite," wrote Mitchell McConachy on Kyrgios' Facebook page.
The 20-year-old then replied: "Oi! Where is the face full of Vegemite?"If you send it to me I will post it on my page!"
The face-smearing has since taken off on Facebook, with some fans using Nutella instead of Vegemite, and children have even joined in.
But not all tennis fans were supportive of the face-painting gesture, likening it to 'blackface'.
"So no one's gonna talk about how this is reminiscent of black face huh? (Had to be said)," wrote Facebook user Chando Mapoma.
Tiana Parkinson also commented: "Hey Nick Kyrgios I know it's not supposed to be like that but this is literal black face. It's not cool and it has a very bad effect on the black community. I know it was meant as a joke but there is some sad history behind black face and it's not good for anyone."
As a wildcard, Kyrgios famously saved nine match points and recovered from two sets down against the Frenchman in last year's second round before the lowest-ranked player - at 144th in the standings - to defeat a world No.1 at a grand slam since 1992.
Another success over Gasquet would vault the 20-year-old into a showdown with either fourth-seeded French Open champion Stan Wawrinka or 16th seed David Goffin for a semi-final spot.
"I'm going to play my game," Kyrgios said.
"Whatever happens happens."
