Nick Kyrgios to play key role in ATP Cup

Despite another appalling tantrum this week, Nick Kyrgios is poised to be Australia’s key figure in the new ATP Cup.

Nick Kyrgios is poised to be Australia’s key figure in the new ATP Cup to be played in January. Picture: AFP

Despite another appalling tantrum this week in Cincinnati which led to fines of $167,000, Nick Kyrgios is poised to be Australia’s key figure in the new ATP Cup to be played in January.

A deadline is looming that will unnerve key stakeholders in Australian tennis given its investment in the new teams tournament.

The 24-year-old has been overlooked for Davis Cup selection over the past two years and his attitude to the sport was criticised by captain Lleyton Hewitt during the Australian Open. He remains under investigation for his misconduct in a match against Karen Khachanov and could yet face a suspension from ATP Tour events, though no ban would apply to the US Open due to it being policed by a different organisation.

Kyrgios will be in a position to dictate terms in the new tournament, which is the key event in a massive reshuffle prior to the Australian Open, if he performs reasonably in the US Open.

Based on current rankings, the Canberran will earn the right to choose who, if anyone, will captain the nation in the revamped world team competition to be played in Perth, Brisbane and Sydney between January 3 and January 12.

The 24-nation competition, which is a clear rival to the restructured Davis Cup, will be played as a round-robin format initially in the three state capitals, with two singles and a doubles match forming a rubber.

The quarter-finals onward will be played in Sydney at Ken Rosewall Arena in an event that has the backing of the world’s leading players and Tennis Australia, which scuttled the Hopman Cup in Perth and men’s version of the Brisbane International as a result.

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A new tournament in Adelaide for men and women will be played in the week prior to the Australian Open in place of the Sydney International. Under the rules of the ATP Cup worth $22 million and which shapes as the key preparatory event for the Australian Open, the No 1 has the right to select the captain for their nation in consultation with teammates.

Should a captain not be selected, the No 1 player will take on the role as skipper in a competition where coaching will be permitted at the change-of-ends.

And that person is Kyrgios at the moment after he recently overtook Alex De Minaur in the rankings, though the latter could reclaim the role if he enjoys a career-best run at the US Open. De Minaur, who fell in the third round in Cincinnati to Yoshihito Nishioka yesterday, trails Kyrgios by 160 ranking points. They have the same amount of points to defend in New York as both reached the third round in last year’s US Open.

Holding a position of authority seemed unlikely when Hewitt issued a reb­uke to Kyrgios over a social media post. At the time, Hewitt left the door ajar for the Washington Open winner to represent Australia again, but only if he adjusted his commitment to the sport.

Amid a fractured landscape in world tennis, the former World No 1 will captain Australia in the remodelled Davis Cup Finals to be played in Madrid in November.

“Nick and I have had a great relationship, but standards have to be set and the role that I’m in now, you have to have standards,” Hewitt said. “All I want guys to do is commit to the sport and work hard and want to play for Australia. I don’t think that’s too much to ask.”

The right-hander, who will be seeded at the US Open, conceded after his win in Washington that he was struggling for motivation amid mental health issues at the time. Those demons seem to have surfaced again.

“Where I was six months ago, some of the things I was doing, I was putting myself in a really tough situation,” Kyrgios said.

Despite his current exile from the Davis Cup team, he enjoys team-based events including the Laver Cup and remains popular with several Australian peers and can be seen regularly supporting them at events.