“Would absolutely love to have him playing for us” – Captain Hewitt wants Kyrgios in Davis Cup squad

Kyrgios had recently said that Hewitt was the only one among former Australian greats who had consistently encouraged him

Lleyton Hewitt and Nick Kyrgios of Australia celebrate at the ATP Cup in Sydney in 2020 Image Credit: Icon SMI / Panoramic

Haresh Ramchandani

July 14, 2022

Australia’s Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt has said that he would love to have Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios back into the country’s Davis Cup squad.

Kyrgios reached his first Grand Slam singles final earlier this month, going down to Novak Djokovic in four sets – the best result of his decade-long career.

The 27-year-old Kyrgios had been asked to be part of the Davis Cup squad earlier this year but declined. He last played for Australia in the Davis Cup in 2019 under Hewitt’s captaincy and it remains to be seen if he will return for Australia’s next tie in September.

“We’d absolutely love to have him playing for us,” Hewitt said according to Reuters. “We’re a much stronger side if he’s available and can play for us. And he’s an option for singles and doubles matches, which is important in this format. To have that kind of weapon at your disposal, we’d certainly want him to be part of that if possible.”

Hewitt, who will be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport this weekend, went on to add that Kyrgios, who won the Australian Open men’s doubles title this year, was disappointed by missing a chance to win his first Grand Slam singles crown. But the former world No 1 insisted that Kyrgios should be extremely proud of his performances during the grass court season.

“Deep down he’s still pretty disappointed to come so close but not win,” Hewitt continued. “But as I told him, he should be extremely proud of the performances over the last two weeks and throughout the whole grass-court season. Everyone knows the kind of firepower and game style that he has and what he’s capable of doing. He just has to go out there and keep believing in himself.”

“The only great that’s ever been supportive of me the whole time has been Lleyton Hewitt” – Kyrgios

Last week during his run to the Wimbledon final, Kyrgios revealed that Hewitt had been the only one of the former Australian greats who had consistently encouraged him, adding that he was disappointed about the lack of support from other past greats.

“The only great that’s ever been supportive of me the whole time has been Lleyton Hewitt,” Kyrgios had said. “He kind of knows that I kind of do my own thing. I’m definitely the outcast of the Australian players. It sucks. It’s pretty sad because I don’t get any support from any of the other Australian tennis players, the male side. Not the players, but like the past greats. It’s weird they just have like a sick obsession with tearing me down for some reason.”