Queen’s: Special Ks have Hewitt in their corner
Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis will benefit from Lleyton Hewitt's wisdom as they embark on their Queen's Club campaigns on Tuesday.
London, UK, 16 June 2015 | AAP
Australia’s Special K duo will make their Queen’s Club debuts with a secret weapon at their disposal.
Rising stars Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis will both be in action on day two of the traditional Wimbledon warm-up on Tuesday, and they’ll have two-time Grand Slam champion Lleyton Hewitt in their corner.
With four Queen’s titles to his name and an incredible 16 appearances at the famed ATP event, there are few better placed than Hewitt to dispense advice to two of the game’s hottest young guns.
At age 34, Hewitt is winding down but he says he has already begun to wade into his future role as a mentor to Australia’s best young talent.
Hewitt, who is set take over the Davis Cup captaincy after he retires as a player, has taken the duo, as well as 22-year-old Bernard Tomic, under his wing.
“Obviously I’ll be helping out Australian tennis in some way at some stage, and it’s kind of started this year anyway,” Hewitt said after losing 6-7(5) 7-5 6-2 to South Africa’s Kevin Anderson on Monday.
> READ MORE: Anderson too strong for Hewitt
“I have tried to help out Bernie the last couple of years as much as possible, and I have a good relationship with Nick and know Thanasi really well, and we are playing doubles here and at Wimbledon, as well.
“I feel like I have a really good connection with those guys. They are quality players moving forward.”
Kokkinakis will take on Frances Jeremy Chardy, while Kyrgios faces French Open champion Stan Wawrinka.