New world No.12 Alex de Minaur has put going one higher than final yr’s runner-up end within the Davis Cup on the prime of his precedence checklist after being named to spearhead a workforce as soon as once more with out injured star Nick Kyrgios.
Thanasi Kokkinakis, who Australian captain Lleyton Hewitt says has the “firepower” to take it to the world’s greatest, joins de Minaur within the workforce together with resurgent Jordan Thompson, Max Purcell and world No.9 doubles participant Matt Ebden for the finals group stage in Manchester subsequent month.
Kyrgios, who has been reluctant to play Davis Cup in latest seasons, has performed only one tour match in 2023 and withdrew from the upcoming US Open citing a wrist harm, making it inconceivable for Hewitt to even think about him.
Australia has been drawn in Group B alongside Great Britain, France and Switzerland and de Minaur, contemporary off reaching his career-high rating following defeat within the ATP Masters 1000 occasion in Toronto, mentioned he was motivated to construct on final yr’s effort.
The Australians misplaced within the closing to Canada, however the runner-up end was the most effective in practically twenty years.
“I think what motivates us is to try and get one better than we did last year,” de Minaur mentioned.
“We got so close to being able to lift that Davis Cup trophy, that gave us a lot of fire in the belly to come back and go for more.
“In Manchester we have a very tough group, a lot of very good players. Very dangerous, players and nations, so it’s going to be very tough. We have to come together as a team and hopefully be able to put a strong performance in both the singles and doubles.”
Hewitt mentioned choosing the workforce for Manchester was powerful, however these picked had been enjoying a number of the greatest tennis of their careers.
“There’s been a lot of really good performances not only in singles but also doubles throughout the year,” Hewitt mentioned.
“Alex de Minaur has played some of his best tennis in Davis Cup, so we’re very fortunate to have him spearheading us again going into Manchester. He’s come off a fantastic run in Toronto.
“Jordan Thompson played some really good tennis in Washington only a couple of weeks ago on the hard courts, but also I thought he played one of his best matches he has ever played when he played Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon earlier this year.
“Max Purcell, he’s another player who can play singles or doubles. He’s had some big wins in singles this year and got his ranking into a position where he can play all the big tournaments. We all know what a quality doubles player he is as well.
“Thanasi Kokkinakis, another fantastic ball striker who is capable of playing a lot better tennis than where his ranking’s at. He has the firepower to put a lot of players under pressure.
“And Matt Ebden has played a lot of big matches for us. He played fantastic in Hamburg last year in the doubles. He’s had an incredible year and is top 10 in doubles.”
The Australians would wish to complete within the prime two of their group to once more progress to the finals in Spain in November.
“We’re in a really tough group in Manchester,” Hewitt mentioned.
“They’re all quality teams and we’re going to have to be on our game in every single match and every rubber against all three nations.
“Our main focus is to finish in the top two and we have to somehow give ourselves an opportunity to get to Malaga again in November. We’ll be doing absolutely everything in our power.”
AUSTRALIAN DAVIS CUP MATCHES
(Matches in Manchester, UK)
Australia v Great Britain – Wednesday, September 13
Australia v France – Thursday, September 14
Australia v Switzerland – Saturday, September 16
Source: www.news.com.au
