Forced to leave the Laver Cup and subsequently the Davis Cup due to a collar-bone injury, Australia’s Nick Kyrgios has had a few injury-weeks. However, that is no concern for his ATP Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt that he will be ready to perform at the ATP Cup.
As part of the host nation, Kyrgios will have the greatest opportunity to showcase his skills for his home crowd and play for his country early next year alongside fellow countryman and NextGen player Alex de Minaur.
Hewitt is positive of the team’s performance. He told ATP:
“We’re in a tough section but I’d give the Aussies a strong chance of beating any team.”
Australia is placed in Group F with Germany, Canada and Greece. This group will feature Next Gen stars Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Denis Shapovalov as well.
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The Aussie captain has assured the world the injury flare-up that Kyrgios experienced during the Davis Cup will not be a problem for him to perform at the ATP Cup.
Hewitt said he is hopeful Kyrgios will play on. He said:
“It [the collarbone injury] has happened a couple of times now so it is a little bit of a concern leading into an Australian summer where hopefully he is going to be playing a lot of matches.”
The world no.30 found himself in hot water this season when he received a 16-week suspended ban from ATP for his recurrent unsportsmanlike behaviour.
Kyrgios is known to have unapologetic conduct on and off-court. On occasions, he has referred to tennis as “boring”. However, this does not draw away from the talent he possesses.
He holds three wins against world no.1 Rafael Nadal in their seven meetings thus far and a 100 per cent win record over Novak Djokovic in their two meetings. He has also reached a career-high of 13 in 2017, which shows his potential to break the Top 20 and hopefully Top 10 this season.
Following the ATP ban, Kyrgios has been on his best behaviour which has left him in a very good head-space according to Hewitt. It is unmistakable, however, that Kyrgios plays his best and is most motivated at team events. At Grand Slams this year, the farthest Kyrgios has gotten has been the third round at the US Open but he holds an impressive 3-0 doubles win record at the Laver Cup.
Perhaps the ATP Cup is just what the young man needs to sharpen up his game and start the season brilliantly.
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