Nick Kyrgios has responded to those who questioned his decision to retire in his third-round match at the U.S. Open, and Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt has come to his defense.
Kyrgios was criticized by John McEnroe on ESPN when, trailing two sets to one, the 21-year-old stopped playing because of a hip injury.
"Nick Kyrgios, if you don’t want to be a professional tennis player, do something else," McEnroe said on the broadcast. "He's hurt because he's not training enough."
Roger Rasheed, the former coach of Hewitt, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gael Monfils and Grigor Dmitrov, suggested that Kyrgios did not properly manage his injury.
"This is the difference between having a coach and not having a coach," he told *Sky Sports*, noting that a coach would have told him not to play doubles or practice on off days.
Kyrgios took aim at Rasheed on Twitter, telling the Aussie coach, "I got to [yo]ur career high when I was 18."