“Maybe if Australia embraced me a little bit more, I'd play for it and bring home the trophy" - Nick Kyrgios on skipping Davis Cup
With no beating around the bush, Nick Kyrgios has finally explained the reasons behind him giving the recently concluded Davis Cup a miss.
The Aussie tennis star is currently in Saudi Arabia to participate in the 2022 Diriyah Tennis Cup exhibition event, starting today. In a brutally honest interview with the news agency Australian Associated Press, the 22nd-ranked player set the record straight that he was only thinking about what was best for him. That is why he chose to sign up for three exhibition tournaments before the 2023 Australian Open.
He also cited a lack of respect and embrace towards him from his home country throughout his career, behind him going for the lucrative tournaments instead of playing Davis Cup, where he last played in 2019.
“Maybe if Australia embraced me a little bit more, I would play for it and bring home the trophy,” Kyrgios said. "At this point of my career, I’ll always do what’s best for me. I can travel around the world playing exhibitions around this time of year for six figures. I feel I put myself in that position, so it’s an easy one for me.
"I’ll easily take time with my family and my girlfriend and enjoy experiences around the world and earn that type of money rather than playing a week away in something where I wouldn’t be able to be with my girlfriend and I’m not getting paid that well," he added. "That doesn’t really make sense to me and my progression as an athlete.”
The 27-year-old didn't entirely rule out the possibility of playing for Australia again, but cannot entirely forget the negativity either.
"Maybe, who knows? Adding another week in Europe in Malaga wasn’t really what was on my wish list. If it was in Australia, maybe it would have been a different story. It’s not always easy for me to erase everything in Australia that’s said negatively about me or my family. So it’s interesting that they really want me to play, but are always criticizing," he added.
Nick Kyrgios' schedule ahead of Australian Open
Nick Kyrgios will play his first and maybe even his second match at the Diriyah Tennis Cup on Thursday, December 8. If he wins his opening match against Great Britain's Cameron Norrie, the Aussie will clash with World No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals later in the day.
After Saudi Arabia, the World No. 22 is set to compete in the inaugural edition of the World Tennis League, scheduled to be played from December 19-24 in Dubai. He will team up with Bianca Andreescu, Rohan Bopanna, Caroline Garcia, and Andreas Seppi for Team Eagles.
In his third and final exhibition tournament, Nick Kyrgios will return to Australia to play for his country at the United Cup, from December 29 to January 8. He is set to face Rafael Nadal on January 2.
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