Nick Kyrgios defends himself against criticism for 'harassing' Lleyton Hewitt's 16-year-old son over Jannik Sinner collaboration

Nick Kyrgios responded to a comment calling him out for 'harassing' Lleyton Hewitt's son Cruz after the Aussie's recent practice session with Jannik Sinner at the Rod Laver Arena. The 29-year-old has been vehemently opposing the Italian's 'No Fault or Negligence' verdict ever since it became public news.

16-year-old Cruz Hewitt, who is set to make his Grand Slam qualifying debut at the Australian Open after receiving a wildcard, shared a picture after a practice session with the World No. 1. He also added an old photo of the two, from some years back.

Nick Kyrgios expressed his disappointment with his compatriot for posting pictures with Sinner in the comments section of the post.

"Love ya Cruz but this is wild 😢"

"Thought we were boys 💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔"

"Cooked post 💉"

Fans have often expressed their disapproval of Kyrgios' way of showing his disapproval of Sinner's verdict and were appalled to see the 29-year-old dragging a 16-year-old into the ordeal.

A Jannik Sinner fan page dubbed the Aussie's behavior as 'embarrassing'.

"A 30 yo harassing a 16 yo on social media, really? Embarrassing 🤡," the fan wrote.

However, Kyrgios defended himself, claiming that he was only joking.

"It’s a joke mateeeee hahaha."

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"I would just turn it into an absolute riot" - Nick Kyrgios expresses desire to face Jannik Sinner at the Australian Open

Jannik Sinner and Nick Kyrgios - Source: Getty

During his appearance on the 'Nothing Major', hosted by the American quartet of Jack Sock, Sam Querrey, John Isner, and Steve Johnson, Nick Kyrgios expressed his desire to face Jannik Sinner at the Australian Open.

"But I feel like I've got a lot more, I've got something, you know, let's be honest. I just want to go out there and I really want to play Sinner. Like I'm waiting for it man," Kyrgios said.

The Aussie said he would love to play the defending champion at the Happy Slam and would rile people up to turn the blockbuster clash into an 'absolute riot'.

"Well, I thought about this and I've been thinking, I've been talking about it a little bit, like if I played him in Australian Open, like I would get every single person in the crowd to just like get on him. Like I would just turn it into an absolute riot. Like I would lose all respect, all respect would go out the window and I would just do anything to win," he added.

However, many tennis fans didn't take too kindly to these comments and officially wrote to the ATP asking them to action against Kyrgios.