No secret Nick Kyrgios loves being in team competition: Australia's United Cup captain Sam Stosur
Dec 26, 2022
Melbourne [Australia], December 26 : Australia's United Cup captain Sam Stosur believes Nick Kyrgios will like the United Cup's team atmosphere in his first competition in Australia since his triumphs at Wimbledon.
The inaugural United Cup brings together the best ATP Tour and Hologic WTA Tour players in an 18-country teams' event played over 11 days across three Australian cities - Brisbane, Perth and Sydney.
She also believes she and Lleyton Hewitt will approach each player differently due to a relaxation of coaching guidelines.
"I think it's no secret Nick loves being in a team and a team competition. I'm sure this is going to be right up his alley, being an Australian team in Australia at the start of the year. He'll be keen and ready to go," Sydney Morning Herald quoted Stosur as saying.
The United Cup is a brand-new team competition scheduled to be played across five Australian cities from December 29, 2022, to January 8, 2023, and Nick Kyrgios will captain the home team.
"He's our highest-ranked player in the country, and I'm certainly looking forward to watching him play. To be honest, I haven't been on the sideline watching Nick in a live match. I do find his tennis really entertaining, and he's an amazing player. To be right there this week is going to be lots of fun," Stosur further added.
In one of the two men's singles matches in each tie, Kyrgios will take on Cameron Norrie or Rafael Nadal, the No. 1 players from Australia's competitors.
The No. 2 seed for Australia will be Alex de Minaur, and each tie will be completed by two women's singles matches and a mixed doubles rubber in which Stosur will be allowed to compete as a playing captain.
"Having this event -- men and women, ATP and WTA combined -- when you're really playing for something, you're playing for your country, you're playing for points, and obviously everything that goes along with that, I think it's fantastic. It's a huge step forward for our sport, and now that it's happening it can only get better and better," Stosur said.
