Lleyton Hewitt is preparing his Davis Cup team for a mouthwatering quarter-final clash with the USA minus the influence of Nick Kyrgios.
The Aussie extrovert hasn’t played tennis for two years. He’s been nursing a wrist injury that has threatened his career but Kyrgios has announced he’s coming back ahead of the New Year.
Kyrgios will play in the Brisbane International which runs from the end of December through to January. The event often acts as a warm-up for the players ahead of the Australian Open and the star will hope to make the first major of the year.
Kyrgios is going to also enter the World Tennis League – an exhibition event in Abu Dhabi which takes place in December and runs for three days.
The Davis Cup was an event that Kyrgios always looked forward to and now he’s shared details of a conversation with captain Leyton Hewitt ahead of the finals getting underway this week.
What Leyton Hewitt has told Nick Kyrgios ahead of tennis return
There are few Australians who take as much pride in representing their country as Kyrgios does when it comes to being patriotic.
He will be gutted to miss out on the Davis Cup and will be rooting for the team from afar with the intention of being called upon to make up the team next year.
It also appears that Kyrgios has actually had a chat with Hewitt already regarding his involvement in future Davis Cup contests.
He told The AO Show: “I love the team environment. I love being part of that team. They are some of my closest friends. Thanasi and Jordan Thompson. I am so happy for Jordan to see how well he has gone, top 30 in the world. We grew up and played the exact same tournaments together from eight years old. We played each other at Wimbledon and to see him having success is cool.
“I do miss it but at the same time, these guys are capable. I think I was the first one to knock on the door and show it was possible and then these guys started believing.
“Now they are all having some amazing success, Alexei is coming out of his shell and understanding what he needs to do to execute. And they are more than capable of winning without me.
“The fact I had a conversation with Lleyton yesterday and he thinks I am still able to add value is a positive for me. But I miss the team environments, I love them.
“I do miss the home and away aspects of Davis Cup, I have to say. I remember we played a tie against the USA out here [in Australia] and it was some of the coolest atmosphere ever.”
Kyrgios can make waves when he returns to professional tennis
At 29-years-old, Kyrgios does have some time on his side when it comes to the professional game and he will be keen to make up for lost time on the ATP Tour.
Kyrgios defied the odds to reach the Wimbledon final in 2022 but ran into an in-form Novak Djokovic who claimed a seventh title.
The Australian has struggled otherwise at Grand Slams, reaching the quarter-final of the US Open just months after his Wimbledon exploits.
He will be keen to tick one Grand Slam singles title off before he calls time on his career and doing that would be remarkable.
In the time he’s had out of tennis, other players have burst onto the scene and it won’t be easy for him to get over the line and win a major title.
Kyrgios will want to prove his fitness first and the hope will be that he can get back to his best and start entertaining fans out on the court again in the future.
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