Hewitt slams 'lack of communication' surrounding Kyrgios United Cup withdrawal
ATP
Nick Kyrgios didn't make the Australian United Cup team captain, Lleyton Hewitt, happy with his withdrawal from the event.
The 2022 Wimbledon finalist was supposed to be the leader of the Australian team at the inaugural United Cup that takes place in three Australian cities.
However, only 24 hours before the United Cup was scheduled to start, Kyrgios withdrew from the event. Although withdrawals are a normal thing in tennis, it was something else that bothered the team captain.
Hewitt spoke about Kyrgios' withdrawal, and he admitted that he wasn't happy about the lack of communication from the player's side. It was mostly because if he knew that a withdrawal was an option, Hewitt could have prepared other players to be ready as replacements.
"For the whole team, it was pretty tough not knowing what was going on the last 24 hours. It was more probably the lack of communication. If it was just worrying Nick, that's one thing, but when it revolves around the team and other people and, I guess, their preparation."
"They want to be playing as well as they can, not just in this event but also leading into the Australian Open. That's probably the hardest thing."
Alex de Minaur had to step up as the Australian No. 1, and Jason Kubler was promoted to the No. 2 ATP player in the Australian Open. De Minaur lost his opening match to Cameron Norrie in two sets but regardless of the results, Hewitt was proud of him because of many reasons.
"I'm so proud of this bloke and the effort and how he makes playing for his country a priority. To have (the change) thrown on him yesterday wasn't easy. He's got to play two lefties now, where he was planning on playing two righties. It is completely different. But he's not going to make excuses, that's for sure."
