Happier times lie ahead of Nick Kyrgios. Source: Getty Images
NICK Kyrgios and his team recognised the need to make changes after all the negativity surrounding his performances at Wimbledon and Australia’s Davis Cup tie in Darwin. He’s nailed the first one.
Kyrgios’s mother, Nill, has revealed her son, coachless since parting ways with Todd Larkham less than a week before Wimbledon, will be mentored by Lleyton Hewitt in the lead-up to the US Open.
Hewitt presents as the perfect role model for the perceived new bad boy of world tennis because he successfully transitioned from an emotional and at times misunderstood youth to a respected statesman of the game.
“He will listen to Lleyton because he knows what he’s talking about, he’s been at the top and been world No. 1,” Nill told the Canberra Times.
“What Nick doesn’t like is when people who haven’t been in that situation give him advice, but he’ll listen to someone like Lleyton.
“Lleyton’s been through everything that Nick is going through. We touched base on it after Davis Cup because we knew Nick wasn’t in a good head space, he just wasn’t dealing well with the negative feedback.”
Kyrgios has often put on a brave front in the face of repeated criticism about his on-court behaviour and attitude but his mother’s comments reveal the true toll on his state of mind.
She indicated he was so downcast after dropping his opening singles game in the tie against Kazakhstan he was unable to play in the reverse singles.
“People perceive Nick got dropped, but there was no way the way he was (mentally) he could have won that singles match, he just couldn’t do it,” Nill said.
“It’s a team, you have to report back to your team members and say ‘I don’t think I can do it’. He’d just had enough at that point.”
Watching Hewitt’s inspiring performances — in the doubles and reverse singles — to help Australia overcome a 2-0 deficit in the tie could prove to be a turning point in his young career.
Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis applaud Lleyton Hewitt during his reverse singles win at the Davis Cup tie in Darwin. Source: Getty Images
It’s not yet known whether Hewitt will also play at the US Open. He’s made no secret Australia’s Davis Cup campaign — which continues in a semi-final against Great Britain from September 18-20 — is his priority before a farewell appearance at next year’s Australian Open.
But Kyrgios’s mother said Hewitt had committed to being by Kyrgios’s side at the event — and lead-up tournaments in Montreal and Cincinnati. The pair will also play together in the doubles competition at Montreal.
“For the moment it (partnership) is temporary, only because I don’t think Nick has asked anyone. Nick and Thanasi (Kokkinakis) know he’s over there to mentor and coach if they want it, he’s there to make sure they’re heading in the right direction,” Nill said.
“They also need to be in a good head space for the semi-finals of the Davis Cup. They cannot go to the semi-final the way they did in the quarter-final. He’s not there to say ‘don’t do this or don’t do that’, he’s there to advise them gently on things they shouldn’t be doing, because they’ll regret it later.
“Lleyton was available and fortunately in a position where he’s just about to finish (his career). He wanted to mentor these boys because he’s been in their shoes before. I think it’s great for Nick to have him there.”
The US Open runs from August 31 to September 13.
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