Australian Davis Cup worries: Nick Kyrgios and Alex de Minaur have to pass
Lleyton Hewitt faces major personnel worries ahead of his Australian team's upcoming Davis Cup duel with Brazil. The two top players Nick Kyrgios and Alex de Minaur have to cancel due to injury.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit:
Mar 01, 2020, 08:51 pm
It was probably one of the most emotionally charged moments of this year's ATP Cup when Alex de Minaur and Nick Kyrgios lay in arms on the floor of the Ken Rosewell Arena. The two individual specialists had just ensured their Australians' 2-1 victory over Great Britain with the razor-thin double win over Jamie Murray and Joe Salisbury and thus fixed the promotion to the top four. There will be no scene like this at the next team event, the Davis Cup qualification on March 6th and 7th.
Because both Nick Kyrgios and Alex de Minaur had to announce that they could not start in the home game against Brazil. Nick Kyrgios has been suffering from a wrist injury since the Australian Open and had to pause until the ATP 500 event in Acapulco. There, the Australian eccentric started as defending champion, but had to give up in his first round match after the first set. Alex de Minaur could not start at the Australian Open, the 21-year-old had to take a break after the ATP Cup. Like his team-mate three years older, de Minaur made his comeback in Acapulco. Although he was able to finish his first round match, the 21-year-old was not yet physically up to par in the three-set loss to Miomir Kecmanovic.
The Australian Davis Cup captain, Lleyton Hewitt, regrets these failures very much: "As has been seen in Acapulco during the week, Alex 'stomach injury has reappeared and Nick has a complaint on his wrist , they have to rest and take care of theirs Focus recovery. " The first two ATP Masters 1000 events are on the program immediately after qualifying for the Davis Cup. In Indian Wells and Miami, for which the two youngsters still have a bill open. While Alex de Minaur was only able to start in Indian Wells last year and failed there in the first round, Nick Kyrgios also only managed two wins at the American hard court tournaments.
John Peers and Alex Bolt nominated
"Both boys love to play in a team environment and for Australia. It's not an easy decision. But at the end of the day you have to give in to medical advice," said Lleyton Hewitt. As a replacement, the former world number one has now nominated double specialists John Peers and Alex Bolt, who forced Dominic Thiem over the full distance at the Australian Open . John Millman, Jordan Thompson and James Duckworth will also be on the pitch in Adelaide on March 6-7.