Nick Kyrgios prepares for 'six-figure' Saudi Arabia pay day as Lleyton Hewitt bemoans Davis Cup absence
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Published 28/11/2022 at 10:47 GMT
Australia made their first Davis Cup final in 19 years but were beaten 2-0 by Canada, who won the tournament for the first time in their history. Australia might have fared better if they had their highest-ranked singles player Nick Kyrgios in their team. Team captain Lleyton Hewitt and leading singles player Alex de Minaur both tried to get Kyrgios to play the event for the first time since 2019.
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Lleyton Hewitt says he tried his best to get Nick Kyrgios to play the Davis Cup Finals for Australia, but the Wimbledon finalist instead seems to have prioritised a six-figure pay day in Saudi Arabia.
Kyrgios, 27, was omitted from Australia’s squad in early 2019 for “failing cultural standards”.
He was recalled later that year by team captain Hewitt but hasn’t played since.
He made himself unavailable in September as he wanted to travel home after the US Open, and was not part of the squad that made the final last week in Malaga, where they lost to Canada.
Kyrgios' presence would have been a major boost to the team, which only included one singles player ranked inside the top 80 in the world.
World No. 22 Kyrgios would have been Australia’s highest-ranked singles player ahead of world No. 24 De Minaur.
Asked about Kyrgios’ absence, Hewitt said: "I don't know. You have to ask him. I can't try any harder.
"I try and come here with the best possible team we can field."
De Minaur added: "I have tried as well. Just wasn’t meant to be.”
Australia performed admirably without Kyrgios as they reached the final for the first time in 19 years.
But after losing both singles matches in the final against Canada it was hard not to wonder what might have been.
Kyrgios only played one singles event – the Japan Open - since losing in the US Open quarter-finals. He also played doubles at the Nitto ATP Finals along with Kokkinakis.
He will be heading to Saudi Arabia in early December to play in the Diriyah Tennis Cup.
The three-day exhibition event will also feature former world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev and world No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Kyrgios has said he wants to get a “head start” on some of his rivals by playing in Saudi Arabia, where he is expected to receive a substantial appearance fee.
Kyrgios hinted at how much in a comment below a Davis Cup Instagram post by De Minaur.
Replying to a question about why he wasn’t playing the event, Kyrgios wrote: "About to go to Saudi for six figures actually."
Kyrgios is also signed up to play in the World Tennis League in Dubai, which starts on December 19.
“Saudi Arabia and Dubai is all that’s left. You know I gotta get the bag,” said Kyrgios on Instagram.
Hewitt said he was “extremely proud” of his team for making it to the final.
“They’ve put in the commitment, the work, they’ve done everything right,” he said.
“We’re extremely proud of the effort and dedication these guys have shown. I couldn’t be prouder and all of Australia should be proud of them.”
Australia were quickly behind in the final as Kokkinakis was beaten 6-2 6-4 by Denis Shapovalov.
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That meant De Minaur needed to win to force a deciding doubles but he lost 6-3 6-4 to world No. 6 Felix Auger-Aliassime.
“I just had one job to do, and that was to get my team into the deciding doubles. Sadly, I wasn’t able to perform today,” said the world No. 24.
“You always want to do everything you can for your team, and I had chances. They just didn’t want to go my way today.
“We had the ultimate goal in front of us and on this day we weren’t able to perform.
“It’s tough, but so many Davis Cup Australian players have been following us, even if they didn’t play they were with us. This shows what a family this Australian team is.”
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