Lleyton Hewitt's truth bomb for Nick Kyrgios amid massive call on Alex de Minaur for US Open

Aussie tennis great Lleyton Hewitt has warned Nick Kyrgios that making his way back to the top of the tennis ranks "won't happen overnight" as he prepares to make his return. Kyrgios was originally hoping he would be back competing at Wimbledon but after a nightmare 12 months, where he only managed a single match at the ATP level, he was unable to get his body right in time.

The polarising 29-year-old will play doubles and mixed doubles at two exhibition tournaments this week ahead of the US Open, where he is not expected to be in the draw. The 28-year-old only managed a single match last year and is reportedly wanting to be cautious with his return from a troublesome wrist injury.

There are several examples of elite players who have struggled to find their best after wrist surgery, with 2020 US Open champion Dominic Thiem and 2021 Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini among those who have failed to recapture previous form after undergoing the operation. But the former World No.13 has been slowly working his way back and has recently been uploading plenty of training footage across his social media platforms as he prepares to make his competitive return.

Hewitt believes Kyrgios is committed to making a return to tennis despite the Aussie previously admitting that he has had thoughts about walking away from the sport. However, Hewitt says it will be a long path back to the top of the sport for the former World No.13. “I think everyone hopes (he’ll return). It’s hard to know – he seems like he’s in a pretty happy space at the moment. I know he’s been doing the work off-court, but it’s going to be tough to go out there and get your body ready for the battles, especially five-set tennis again,” Hewitt said.

“So I don’t think that will happen overnight but certainly in the UTS event … it’s good for him to be over there playing against quality players as well. So we’ll see how he pulls up from that. I think deep down, he really does miss it and getting out there and playing in those big tournaments. So hopefully he gets the opportunity to come back sometime soon.”

Lleyton Hewitt backs Alex de Minaur to come back with a bang

Alex de Minaur will join Kygrios at the Ultimate Tennis Showdown event in New York as he makes his return from a hip injury in time for the US Open. De Minaur was forced to withdraw before his Wimbledon quarter-final against Novak Djokovic due to a cartilage tear in his hip and failed to recover in time to compete in the Olympic singles in Paris.

And while Hewitt admits the top-ranked Australian’s chances at the US Open were “a bit of an unknown” he believes he has a style well suited to Flushing Meadows and can therefore make a deep run. “It’s a little bit unknown with Alex at the moment. I know he’s been doing absolutely everything in his power to get us close to 100 per cent right for the US Open,” Hewitt said.

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“He was desperate to play obviously at the Olympics as well, in singles, and he missed out on that. So there’s certainly been some frustration over the last four or five weeks, and he’s a kid in a hurry.”

"His game style really suits the US Open and playing at Flushing Meadows," Hewitt said. So fingers crossed he gets a good draw as well and he can sort of play himself into the tournament. He's getting better every practice session that he's having over there at the moment.

"He likes playing in New York under the big lights as well. It's a great atmosphere. If he can get through his first couple of rounds, then he's certainly going to be dangerous." At least 14 Australians will feature in the singles main draws at the US Open, with another dozen entered in qualifying and needing to win three sudden-death matches to make the main draw.

with agencies