Tennis legend Lleyton Hewitt predicts a MAJOR upset at the Australian Open with Nick Kyrgios tipped as being ‘dangerous’ after Grand Slam favourites were locked up in isolation
- Australian tennis great Lleyton Hewitt expects big things from Nick Kyrgios
- Kyrgios has stated he ‘didn’t pick up a racquet for most of 2020’ due to Covid
- Not having to quarantine in a hotel for two weeks gives locals a big advantage
- Australian Open is scheduled to begin on Monday February 8 in Melbourne
Tennis legend Lleyton Hewitt has labelled Nick Kyrgios a ‘dangerous’ opponent ahead of the Australian Open on Monday.
Action is scheduled to begin at Melbourne Park from 11am, and former world number one Hewitt wouldn’t be surprised to see his fellow countryman trouble some big name players.
‘Nick just needs to get his body going, get the rust out of him,’ Hewitt told the Today Show on Friday morning.
‘He has so many weapons (on court), he is going to be awfully dangerous.
Tennis legend Lleyton Hewitt has labelled Nick Kyrgios (pictured right) a ‘dangerous opponent’ ahead of the Australian Open starting on Monday
Nick Kyrgios (pictured above) polarises tennis fans with his on-court antics and outspoken nature
‘If he can pull up well, he is definitely a dangerous floater none of the big names will want to play heading into week two.’
Hewitt also believes the local players, led by women’s world number one Ash Barty, will have a huge advantage over their opponents who have been in quarantine for two weeks.
‘It is a big factor, no doubt about it,’ he said. ‘Hopefully we see a number of Aussies perform well over the next two weeks on court.’
Kyrgios has left countless tennis fans frustrated over the course of his career because of his obvious natural talent.
At times on court he appears disinterested, and Kyrgios has repeatedly stated in recent years he doesn’t ‘love’ the sport, rather that life on the professional circuit is ‘his job.’
Hewitt also believes the local players, led by women’s world number one Ash Barty, will have a huge advantage over their opponents who have been in quarantine for two weeks
He barely played a professional match in 2020 due to Covid, and recently admitted he spent much of the year ‘on his Playstation.’
Earlier this week, Kyrgios refused to play for several minutes after receiving a time violation during his 6-2, 7-6 win over fellow Australian Harry Bourchier in an Australian Open warm-up event in Melbourne.
The Canberra-raised Kyrgios threatened to retire from the practice match before declaring the chair empire was a ‘smart a**e.’
Recently the world number 47 broke up with his glamour girlfriend Chiara Passari.
Ms Passari posted an Instagram story on Tuesday night which included a post that read: ‘Cheaters always want you to be loyal while they’re being unfaithful’.
Passari, whose Instagram bio reads ‘Trust yourself, no one else’, captioned the post with ‘It keeps getting better y’all’.
Kyrgios reportedly no longer follows Passari on Instagram.
On Friday, tennis officials confirmed the grand slam will go ahead at Melbourne Park from Monday despite Covid concerns.
No last minute crowd changes are anticipated, after they were initially capped at 30,000 fans each day.
Chiara Passari’s cryptic Instagram post (pictured above) this week sent social media into meltdown
Chiara Passari (pictured above) appears to be no longer dating tennis star Nick Kyrgios
‘Our position hasn’t changed,’ Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley said on Friday. ‘Spectators will continue to be allowed in the site, and we are still selling tickets.
‘We’ll have health checks and contract tracing in place. Areas are divided up into zones with physical distancing to be enforced.’
‘The site will be an extremely safe place.’
The first grand slam of 2021 was thrown into chaos on Wednesday night after a quarantine hotel worker tested positive to what’s since been confirmed as the highly contagious UK strain of the virus.
Around 520 tennis stars, officials and support staff were identified as casual contacts of the 26-year-old man who worked at the Grand Hyatt hotel.
The positive case ended Victoria’s 28-day streak of zero community transmissions.
Australia’s Ash Barty (pictured above) is the women’s world number one players and is tipped to excel in Melbourne