Nick Kyrgios, still controversial: he left the United Cup on time and bet on the captain, Lleyton Hewitt

After a 2022 in which he made more headlines for his great on-court performances – he was doubles champion at the Australian Openfinalist in Wimbledonhe reached the quarterfinals US Open (with victory against Daniil Medvedev, number one, included) and shouted champion in Washington-, Nick Kyrgios The 2023 season has restarted in the midst of a controversy, which this Saturday added a new chapter.

Is that the Australian, who has been heavily criticized for having dropped at the last minute of the united cup due to an ankle discomfort, he bet everything Lleyton Hewittone of his country’s team captains along with Samantha Stosurwho had reprimanded him in front of the media for his decision not to play the tournament.

Kyrgios, 22nd in the world, took advantage of the news that his compatriot Alja Tomljanovic He also withdrew from the tournament due to injury – which brings together players from the women’s and men’s circuits – a few hours before the match he was supposed to play against the English harriet dartto “hit” Hewitt.

“I wonder if Stosur will throw her under the bus, like our captain did with me… “Hard to prepare when you don’t know what’s going on”“, wrote, with irony, the oceanic, in response to a tweet from journalist José Morgado, announcing the farewell of Tomljanovic, 33rd in the WTA ranking.

The loss of Kyrgios had generated a wave of criticism from tennis fans on social networks and also the anger of the other members of the Australian team.

“It was like that, literally. We discovered it ten minutes ago and we had to react quickly,” said Stosur, shortly before the start of the clash against Great Britainwhich the hosts ended up losing 3-2.

Hewitt, shocked by the way he and his boys learned the news, had assured: “He arrived on the same plane as the rest of the team. And we knew nothing. His resignation was a blow to the lack of communication, because no one knew until it came out in the media. It’s not the normal way to do it.”

And, incidentally, praised the work of Alex DeMinau, who became the team leader after the departure of Kyrgios. “I’m very proud of Alex, of his commitment and how he makes playing for his country a priority. I think it was quite difficult for the whole team not to know what was going on in the last 24 hours.”

Kyrgios did not remain silent. Faced with criticism, he went to his social networks, where he downloaded. “All the media and journalism is saying how bad I am at sports, disrespecting the game and just being a pure villain. I will be episode number 1 in Netflix…to grow our fan base, basically trying to get tennis back on the map. And that will end up putting more money in the pockets of everyone involved in tennis, you all look really ridiculous right now. Your apology should be as strong as your disrespect has been,” she wrote.

A little later, in an interview with the newspaper The Sydney Morning Herald he explained the situation more calmly.

“These things happen in tennis, especially when there are two weeks to a Grand Slam. The United Cup is a big event, with a $15 million first prize and 500 ranking points. But as a player, you have to be vigilant. .He had every intention of playing, but unfortunately he doesn’t,” he commented, rightly so.

And added, “Not everyone is going to get it or see it from my side and that’s okay. Anyone who plays professionally knows for sure. Anyone outside of that couldn’t understand it. People underestimate the pressure and nerves of being a part of one of the biggest tournaments of the year. And being with this injury just adds to the mountain of pressure I have to deal with. So feeling good physically is important.”

But the moderation did not last long and, this Sunday, he again generated controversy with that tweet with which he was harsh on Hewitt, with whom he had already had some clashes in the past. The former number one in the world, for example, didn’t like the absence of Kyrgios in the team that played in the Finals of Davis Cup in November (they lost the final to Canada). And it seems the rift between the two is getting bigger and bigger.