Australian captain Lleyton Hewitt has backed in Alex de Minaur to information his crew to a primary Davis Cup semi-final since 2017 within the continued absence of nationwide No.1 Nick Kyrgios.
Efforts throughout each singles and doubles in 2022, which included making the Wimbledon finals in singles and profitable the Australian Open doubles, helped Kyrgios end the season at 22 within the rankings, two spots forward of de Minaur who will lead the crew within the quarter-final in opposition to the Netherlands in Spain.
Captain Lleyton Hewitt declared he relied “heavily” on the world No.24 to be the non secular chief of his crew as a lot as its fiercest competitor.
“Not only on the court but also off the court as well, which is really important being in a team environment,” Hewitt mentioned on the eve of the conflict with the Dutch crew.
“We’re extremely proud of Alex and I have no doubt he’s going to play well for us here.
“I rely heavily on Alex, but then again Rochey (coach Tony Roche) and I have spent a lot of time over the years with Alex since he was an orange boy and really getting him ready for these situations where he’s got to go out there and lead the team and he does that so well.”
Coming off among the best wins of his singles profession after taking down world No.3 Daniil Medvedev within the Paris Masters, as a part of a 45-25 win-loss total in 2022, de Minaur mentioned he felt sturdy “mentally and physically” forward of his closing problem of the yr.
“I’m very happy with how I’ve been able to manage it throughout the whole year,” he mentioned
“I felt like I’ve stayed strong, mentally and physically, and I’ve given myself a chance to win a lot of matches – so that’s, I guess, the ultimate goal.”
But the most important aim stays for the devoted Davis Cup performer, who is decided to make “one last strong push so we can tick 2022”.
“It’s always been a great passion of mine to be able to represent Australia in Davis Cup,” de Minaur mentioned.
“I feel very privileged to be in the position that I am. I love these weeks. I want to do everything I can to help my team and help my country. It’s great to be a part of it.”
Hewitt named, Jordan Thompson, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Max Purcell and Matt Ebden to spherical out the five-man crew.
Thompson, who has made 9 Davis Cup appearances thus far for Australia, was added to the five-man crew in a single day.
The winner of this tie will play the winner of Croatia vs Spain within the first semi-final on Friday, November 25.
