Two-time grand slam champion Lleyton Hewitt has backed embattled young tennis ace Nick Kyrgios, despite the 20-year-old being dumped from Australia’s Davis Cup squad, which faces Great Britain this weekend.
Hewitt, considered a mentor to Kyrgios, maintains the youngster is a “shining light” for Australian tennis.
“He is a big-match player as well and probably three, four, five years away from playing his best tennis consistently week in, week out,” Hewitt said.
“He is a great guy and I have tried to help him out over the last month or so and he is going to be better for it.”
Kyrgios announced on Twitter that his next tour match would be the Malaysian Open, which gets underway 26 September.