Australia has a tremendous tennis history, but Nick Kyrgios isn't feeling iconic champions have his back.
Kyrgios claims legendary Aussie players have not only turned their back on him, they have a "sick obsession with tearing me down for some reason."
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The 27-year-old Kyrgios is the first Australian man since Lleyton Hewitt in 2002 to reach the Wimbledon final. When Kyrgios faces defending champion Novak Djokovic in Sunday's final, he will be the first Aussie man to contest a major final since Hewitt lost to Marat Safin in the 2005 Australian Open final.
Kyrgios says only one male Aussie legend—his Davis Cup captain Hewitt—has been supportive of him.
"As for the greats of Australian tennis, they haven't always been the nicest to me personally," Kyrgios said. "They haven't always been supportive. They haven't been supportive these two weeks. So it's hard for me to kind of read things that they say about me. For instance, when I saw Ash Barty in the final of Australia, I was nothing but happy. I would never say a bad word about an Australian making a final. Like that's just me.
"And the kind of only great that's ever been supportive of me the whole time has been Lleyton Hewitt. Like he knows. He's our Davis Cup captain, and he kind of knows that I kind of do my own thing. I'm definitely the outcast of the Australian players."
Former world No. 1 Hewitt played doubles with Kyrgios at the 2018 Queen's Club and has served as a coaching consultant to the 27-year-old Kyrgios in the past.
Kyrgios says Hewitt knows when to give him space and said "it s pretty sad" other Aussie standouts have been critical of him. Former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash has been a Kyrgios critic, particularly ripping his behavior during his third-round upset of Stefanos Tsitsipas.
"[Hewitt] knows to kind of keep his distance and just let me do me," Kyrgios said. "He just sends me a message here or there, Keep going. That's literally it. Just, Well done. Keep going. It's pretty sad because I don't get any support from any of the other Australian tennis players, the male side. Not the players, but like the past greats. It's weird they just have like a sick obsession with tearing me down for some reason.
"Like, I just don't know whether they don't like me or they're, like, afraid. I don't know. I don't know what it is. But it sucks, because if it was roles reversed, if I saw de Minaur in a final, or if I saw Jordan Thompson or Thanasi, I'd be pumped. I'd be stoked. I'd be having a pint watching going nuts. So I don't know. Shout-out to Lleyton, I guess."
Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve