Nick Kyrgios has denied a feud with fellow Aussie Alex de Minaur, claiming he has a “special relationship” together with his countryman.
De Minaur is the one seeded Aussie left within the Australian Open after Kyrgios withdrew over his knee damage on Monday and Ajla Tomljanovic additionally needed to pull out of the season-opening main.
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Talk of unrest between Australia’s prime two ranked gamers has been fixed after Kyrgios’ refusal to play Davis Cup tennis and his late withdrawal from the United Cup.
But Kyrgios mentioned there was nothing behind it.
“Me and Demon have a very special relationship,” Kyrgios mentioned in an interview with Nine News.
“I still remember him being the orange boy for the Australian Davis Cup team (back in 2015) and I was the one who said ‘I’ll hit with him’ when the tie was finished.
“So me and Demon have a great relationship.
“I saw him yesterday and he came up to me and said, “I’m sorry for everything and I hope your body goes well’.
“I respect all these players, so it’s not really a big deal when I read that me and Demon are feuding or anything like that. He’s one of my close mates on tour and he always will be.”
De Minaur revealed he had tried to persuade Kyrgios to return for Australia however Kyrgios had mentioned: “Maybe if Australia embraced me a little bit more, I would play it and bring home the trophy”.
The experiences of the feud reignited when Kyrgios pulled out of the United Cup simply earlier than a pre-tournament press convention, with group captain Lleyton Hewitt praising De Minaur for stepping up for his nation.
Asked how Kyrgios might enhance his communication, Hewitt mentioned: “Probably just responding. That’s the normal way of doing it. There was a little while (before he responded).”
De Minaur additionally had an ungainly press gaggle look as a media advisor lower off a query about Kyrgios.
“Hey guys let’s stop the Nick questions. If we don’t have anything else about the tournament, we might wrap up.
“Guys let’s avoid Nick questions if you could just stay focused on the tournament.”
A Kyrgios query did slip although nevertheless, asking if the pair had spoken earlier than the Australian Open, De Minaur responding: “No, we haven’t spoken”.
Kyrgios’ knee damage will doubtless maintain the Aussie out till the Indian Wells event in march, and he mentioned his announcement yesterday was “a relief” after a attempting week.
“Every time we (his team) come to a grand slam now, we feel like we can win it,” he mentioned.
“The last two grand slams I made a final and a quarter-final. I don’t ever want to come into a tournament and say, ‘Let’s see how it goes, let’s just win one round’. I want to come here and feel like I can legitimately compete for three hours and seven matches to win a title. Long term, it was definitely the right decision.
“My life is a roller coaster day in, day out. I made a decision. In a way, it’s a relief. I was in two minds for the last week. It was so hard waking up, (wondering) whether I was going to play, whether I was not going to play.
“But now I feel I have a clear path moving forward. That’s life, honestly. I’ve been through a lot more struggle than this. It’s sad, but at the same time, I’m happy.”
