Nick Kyrgios plays down reported feud with Australian team-mate Alex De Minaur, calls their relationship ‘very special’
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Updated 17/01/2023 at 11:18 GMT
The pair were believed to have fallen out following Kyrgios' late withdrawal from the Australian team ahead of the United Cup. He said he did it in order to be fit for the Australian Open, which he has failed to achieve after having to pull out of the tournament. Kyrgios has hit back at Pat Cash, who criticised him for playing an exhibition match while trying to stay injury free.
'A total bummer' - McEnroe gives view on Kyrgios' withdrawal
Nick Kyrgios insists he has no issue with Alex De Minaur after reports of a feud between the pair.
They were said to have fallen out - with De Minaur unhappy with his team-mate’s late withdrawal from Australia’s United Cup team.
However, Kyrgios - who skipped the event in an attempt to be fit for the Australian Open, which he also missed - says De Minaur is one of his “close mates”.
Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, the World No.21 said, “Me and Demon (De Minaur) have a very special relationship. I still remember him being the orange boy in the Davis Cup team and I was the one who would hit with him when the tie was finished.”
“Me and Demon have a great relationship. He came up to me yesterday and said, 'I'm sorry for everything and I hope your body goes well'. I respect all these players, so it's not a big deal when I read about me and Demon are feuding. He's one of my close mates on tour and he always will be,” Kyrgios said.
Despite his injury issues, and the risk of missing the Melbourne Grand Slam, Kyrgios took part in an exhibition match alongside Novak Djokovic on Rod Laver Arena in the build-up to the tournament.
This decision was heavily criticised by former Australian player Pat Cash, who questioned Tennis Australia for putting on the charity event.
Kyrgios has responded to this criticism, saying: “Everyone has their two cents. Everyone will kind of speculate or assume how I'm feeling. Maybe just next time appreciate a bit more understanding that there could be something going on.”
“I feel like it's been like that for the last five or six years of my career.
"There have always been a lot of past players or Australians giving their two cents about how I go about things. All I take away from it is that three days ago I was able to fill a stadium with Novak and raise a quarter-of-a-million dollars for charity,” he said.
“Playing through pain, I gave myself the best chance. I gave myself a shot to play but I wasn't able to do it. The rest is all outside noise. I still think I've gone about it the right way. It's still a successful AO for me in the sense I did a lot of things outside the tennis court which was very important for me. I still feel like I'm part of it.”
Kyrgios is determined to return to Grand Slam action at Roland Garros, saying, “I'll definitely have 'French Open' circled on my calendar. I think I'm as motivated as ever. I was ready for the AO. I'm just going to use this as fuel.”
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