Lleyton Hewitt move backfires as Nick Kyrgios reveals telling pre-match act that everyone missed
The signs were there that the Aussie tennis star was about to play his last singles match at the Australian Open.
Lleyton Hewitt has admitted he might have made a mistake in bringing Nick Kyrgios back into the Davis Cup fold after the Aussie tennis star barely got through three sets on Monday night. And Kyrgios revealed he moved away from his usual pre-match routine because he knew it was likely his last singles match ever at the Australian Open.
Although he declared he wants to play Davis Cup and all four grand slams this year, Kyrgios admitted after his straight-sets loss that he can't see himself playing singles again at the Australian Open. The 29-year-old was hampered by an abdominal injury as he went down 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 7-6 (7-2) to Jacob Fearnley of Scotland in the first round.
It was Kyrgios' first match at the Australian Open in three years, but he admitted in his post-match press conference that it was probably his last. Tellingly, he revealed he didn't wear headphones as he walked out onto court because he wanted to take in the noise one last time.
"Realistically, I can't really see myself probably playing singles again here," he said after spending two hours and 19 minutes on court. "I, kind of, was taking everything in tonight ... I didn't want to just throw in the towel and walk off or retire.
“Honestly, the reason I kept playing, tried to play tonight, was because of the fans. As I said, I don’t know how many times I’m going to be back here again. That’s why I didn’t have headphones on, I wasn’t listening to music. I walked out there today, wanted to hear the crowd. There were some special moments.”
It means Kyrgios is under a huge injury cloud heading into Australia's Davis Cup tie with Sweden later this month, and it might have Hewitt regretting his choice. Hewitt named Kyrgios in his squad for the Davis Cup tie earlier this month - bringing the Aussie star back into the team tournament for the first time in five years.
Lleyton Hewitt's telling admission about Nick Kyrgios
But speaking on Channel 9's coverage on Monday night, Hewitt lamented that Kyrgios didn’t seem up to the rigours of top-flight tennis. “Mentally and physically I think deep down he is not 100 per cent sure,” the Davis Cup captain said.
“He wasn’t sure how the wrist would hold up, especially in matches. You can play a lot of points out of the hand from the baseline and hit a lot of balls on the practice court.
“It is completely different when you are out there on the match court, and also this is just the first match. How he pulls up, if he is able to get through a five-set match, we all know how hard that is.”
If it means others like Alexei Popyrin and Matt Ebden miss out, is it really a good idea to play Kyrgios? It's believed Hewitt wants Kyrgios to play doubles only, but that would mean breaking up the successful partnership that Ebden and Jordan Thompson have formed in recent times.
John Peers is also an option after winning gold at the Paris Olympics last year with Ebden. If Kyrgios struggled so mightily on Monday night, can Hewitt trust his body in the Davis Cup environment?
Nick Kyrgios laments injury hell after Australian Open loss
Kyrgios credited World No.86 Fearnley after the match, even though he branded him "a f***ing challenger player" on court when complaining about his own inability to generate pace on serve. "I knew that I wasn't 100 per cent going into this match," Kyrgios said. "I'm not saying that's why I lost. He outplayed me. He outserved me, he returned well, he did a lot of things amazing ... he's an in-form player."
It was Kyrgios' first appearance at a grand slam since making the quarter-finals at the US Open in 2022. He's undergone knee and wrist surgeries in the years that followed, and admitted he didn't expect to make it back to grand slam level.
"All the niggles, I guess, my body compensating with the wrist is tough," he said. "It's just not enjoyable for me ... I'm happy to play through a bit of discomfort. But when it gets to a point where I'm one of the biggest servers on tour and I'm getting outserved tonight - my average serve speed was beneath 200km/h - Nick Kyrgios without his serve ... I'm not a threat to many players."
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Kyrgios said he still plans to play doubles with Thanasi Kokkinakis at the Australian Open, but both are struggling with injuries. "I don't have any regrets. Everything's been a learning curve for me," he said.
"I continue to try and have fun and just be real and enjoy the ride. But I think it would be selfish for me to say that 'I want more, I want more'. I've had a lot of success. More than most athletes would have."
Despite Kyrgios' loss it was a brilliant day for the Australian contingent at Melbourne Park. Kokkinakis, Thompson, Destanee Aiava, Talia Gibson, James McCabe, Tristan Schoolkate, James Duckworth, Ajla Tomljanovic and Aleksandar Vukic all moved into the second round, but Maya Joint and Chris O'Connell bowed out.
with AAP