Nick Kyrgios has reiterated his intention to quit tennis in his mid-20s and will get the chance to prove if basketball can be a future pursuit when he lines up in February's NBA All-Star celebrity match in New Orleans.
Bernard Tomic let the cat out of the bag following Australia's 2-0 start to its Davis Cup qualifier against Slovakia in Sydney on Friday, declaring Kyrgios had the talent to make a career out of basketball and would get an opportunity to show it on the big stage next year.
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Kyrgios, Tomic hand Australia lead
Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic have won the opening two singles matches in Australia's clash with Slovakia. Vision courtesy ABC News 24
"Nick is very good at basketball," Tomic said following his win 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, 6-4 against world No.123 Jozef Kovalik.
"I think he's playing the All-Star game next year in the States ... hopefully he can score a few points."
Kyrgios conceded Australia only has a small window to taste Davis Cup success with him at the helm after once again stating his intention to quit the sport.
The top-ranked Australian male, who fired a shot at world No.1 Novak Djokovic in his post-match press conference, barely raised a sweat to give Australia the first of their two wins against Slovakia on the opening day.
With Kyrgios and Tomic leading the charge, Australia have the chance for a decade of dominance in the Davis Cup, but when asked about the pair's long-term ambitions, the world No.15 was quick to point out he wouldn't be around to see it through.
"I'm only playing for another four or five years, so," Kyrgios said after his straight-sets 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 victory against little-known Andrej Martin.
![Nick Kyrgios](/web/20160919112437im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/i/e/z/9/y/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.grhsyk.png/1474027689810.jpg)
Tomic's reaction to Kyrgios' basketball aspirations triggered a hilarious exchange between himself and Australian captain Lleyton Hewitt, who interrupted the 23-year-old's press conference to put him in his place.
![Hoops dream: Nick Kyrgios helps launch Westside at Acton Park in Canberra with a game of basketball in 2015.](/web/20160919112437im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/i/a/9/g/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.grhsyk.png/1474027689810.jpg)
"Oh yeah. Nick's good at basketball. I play a bit myself pretty well," Tomic said before Hewitt intervened.
"You're not as good as Nick," Hewitt said.
"Wait wait wait, what was the score in Melbourne last week?" Tomic then asked.
"Yeah, you're better than me but you're not better than Nick," Hewitt replied.
"It's all I need to know ... 40-28 my team beat Lleyton's team last week in Melbourne," Tomic said.
"Mind you, I did have all the physios and doctors and he had all the players," Hewitt said.
"Put it this way, he [Kyrgios] destroys [French tennis player Gael] Monfils as well and Monfils can play."
While Kyrgios was controlled and measured in his straight-sets victory, he had to overcome yet another nosebleed in the third set.
But Kyrgios said his medical time out wasn't a show of gamesmanship, claiming there was a difference between what he did and what Novak Djokovic did receiving treatment on foot blisters during the final of the US Open against Stan Wawrinka.
"I'm not trying to do a Novak at the US Open," Kyrgios said.
"I've got a blood nose mate, I've got to fix it. I can't play with blood coming out of my nose. I want to play. I don't want to take breaks.
"It's tough. It breaks the momentum and obviously the other guy doesn't really know what's going on either. I want to get the match going as quick as possible as anyone. I don't want to hang around."
Kyrgios kept his emotions in check with a clinical performance on Ken Rosewall Arena against the world No.127, enjoying his first Davis Cup tie since he was controversially dumped for Sam Groth following a loss to Kazakhstan in Darwin last July.
Kyrgios suffered minor hiccups in the first and third sets, dropping his service game before responding immediately to claim a break of his own.
With cotton wool stuffed in his nose to stem the flow of blood for most of the third set, Kyrgios wasn't deterred by the setback that has occurred so often throughout his career.
He finished off the Slovakian in one hour and 39 minutes to give Australia a strong start to their campaign in front of captain Lleyton Hewitt.
"It was a great feeling. I know how important it was to get our team off to a good start," Kyrgios said.
"Rusty [Hewitt] was trying to keep me engaged the whole time and I thought my performance today was very good. Mentally today I thought I was very professional. I played well. I thought I did everything right this week.
"For me it's not so much revving me up [with Hewitt]. It's more about keeping me on track and not letting my mind wander too much. Just keeping my head to the task at hand and that's what he did today. He kept me focused and kept me on the incline."
Boom! @NickKyrgios #AUSKAZ #GoAussies pic.twitter.com/KdI5n63AmL
— TennisAustralia (@TennisAustralia) July 15, 2015
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