Pat Rafter wants to keep a lid on the hype surrounding the stars of tomorrow, but Tennis Australia insists it is not the reason they have not been scheduled on Rod Laver Arena this year.
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Of the 15 matches involving Australian males at this year's Australian Open, only veteran Lleyton Hewitt has played at the precinct's main arena.
Nick Kyrgios opened his campaign on Margaret Court Arena, while Thanasi Kokkinakis enjoyed a five-set victory against Ernests Gulbis on the outside court.
Despite his star status at this year's Open, Kyrgios was moved to the outside court for his second-round match against No.23 seed Ivo Karlovic, while the all-Australian battle between Thanasi Kokkinakis and Sam Groth played out on Hisense Arena.
Bernard Tomic was overlooked to play the late match on Rod Laver Arena against German Philipp Kohlschreiber, with fellow Australian Jarmila Gajdosova preferred in her clash against No.3 seed Simona Halep in the same timeslot.
Australian females Ajla Tomljanovic and Sam Stosur have also played on Rod Laver Arena so far this year.
Rafter, the new director of performance for Tennis Australia, said on Tuesday that he did not want players getting caught up in the spotlight.
"I think sometimes they can get a little bit affected by a lot of hype and media," Rafter said.
"That's why we want to keep it very level. There probably are some players who get more attention than others. Just want to try to keep them as grounded as they can. It's only the second round. A lot of those guys have great potential to go on. With the girls as well. I think there is good potential there.
"But if we get affected by all the stuff around you, media and social media, I think it can have a negative effect. [We] just want to keep it all in perspective too and just keep all the guys down to earth and grounded. Guys and girls for that matter. And just try and keep going forward.
"I am maybe being a little conservative in that answer, but I think it's important for these guys to understand it's just a first round and we're building towards something in the next five or 10 years."
Tennis Australia officials insist the scheduling that has kept the young brigade of Australian men's tennis from the biggest stage is only a coincidence, and has nothing to do with Rafter's comments.
Hewitt, Tomic, Kokkinakis, James Duckworth and Matthew Ebden all played on Rod Laver Arena last year, but three of those matches were against Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
Duckworth, who fell to Richard Gasquet in the second round on Wednesday, said he agreed that there needed to be a lid on the hype but he understood the excitement surrounding Generation Next.
"Australian tennis hasn't been as good as it was a few years ago so everyone is getting a bit excited, which is understandable," Duckworth said.
"We're all just making second rounds right now, so it's tough to say if we're going to have grand slam champions yet, but I think we're going the right way."
