Either Nick Kyrgios was hacked, or he’s seriously hacked off with Lleyton Hewitt

Nick Kyrgios has sparked a bizarre social media controversy, after firing a provocative shot at Australian Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt.

Nick Kyrgios playing on centre court at the Brisbane International tennis comp, versing Jeremy Chardy (France), Tennyson, Brisbane, on Wednesday January 2, 2019 - Photo (AAP Image/Steve Pohlner)

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Nick Kyrgios has sparked a bizarre social media controversy, replying to a question as to why Australian Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt allegedly didn’t watch his Brisbane International matches this week.

Kyrgios responded on Friday night, late in Alex de Minaur’s quarter-final, to a Twitter post which tagged in Kyrgios, Hewitt, de Minaur and Thanasi Kokkinakis.

Nick Kyrgios appeared to take a shot at Lleyton Hewitt on social media.

It asked why Hewitt was not watching the matches of Kyrgios and Kokkinakis in Brisbane as Davis Cup captain and asked whether he was just “coaching and managing’’ de Minaur.

“He is indeed, but he has what some call abandon us (sic),’’ Kyrgios responded.

The 23-year-old accompanied the post with emojis which included a man shrugging and a face with tears of joy.

Kyrgios has a history of trolling with some of his social media and in his dealings with mainstream media and the Aussie firebrand later deleted the tweet. The original tweet also appeared to be deleted.

Australian team captain Lleyton Hewitt (left) was on the end of a Twitter broadside from Nick Kyrgios (right). Picture: AAP Image

While it remains to be seen how serious his post was, the best that can be said about it is it was unnecessary and provocative.

Twitter responses ranged from opinions that he was clearly trolling to criticism of him that he should try as hard as de Minaur.

Hewitt was spotted attending at least one match played in Brisbane by John Millman, who like de Minaur has declared he is available for next month’s tie in Adelaide.

Hewitt was at courtside with de Minaur, who is coached by Spaniard Adolfo Gutierrez, during practice sessions at the Queensland Tennis Centre.

Nick Kyrgios playing on centre court at the Brisbane International. Picture: AAP Image

Kyrgios did not play in Australia’s Davis Cup tie in Austria in September, which had no bearing on the team’s ability to qualify for this year’s Cup finals in Madrid under the competition’s changed format.

But the former world No.13 professed in the previous tie in February how much he appreciated the support of the Australian players and what Davis Cup representation meant to him.

Australia play Bosnia and Herzegovina in Adelaide next month in a tie which they need to win to be sure of playing in the 18-nation Davis Cup finals in November.

Kyrgios is scheduled to play in a Fast4 modified scores format event in Sydney on Monday.

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The Kooyong Classic today announced Kyrgios had added its event to his Australian Open buildup after he had only two matches at the Brisbane International. A spokesman did not say if he would play one match or more at the exhibition series.

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