Lleyton Hewitt will name his team to face Germany in the first round of the Davis Cup today, but the question of who he is going to select remains after a summer which saw plenty of ups and downs for the Aussie men.
The first-round tie is going to be undoubtedly more difficult than the 2017 version when Australia cruised past the Czech Republic in about as straightforward fashion as you could imagine.
The team on that occasion consisted of Nick Kyrgios, Jordan Thompson, John Peers and Sam Groth. The squad stayed the same as Australia pulled off a huge win over the USA in Brisbane, but then John Millman replaced Groth for the tie against Belgium away from home, with Australia eventually losing both reverse singles matches to drop a hard-fought tie 3-2.
To say it was one of the toughest days in Australian tennis over the last decade would be an understatement. There have been some dark days, but for those of us back here in Australia, awake until the early hours of a September Monday morning, it was horrific.
To watch Kyrgios lose to world No.7 David Goffin in one of the most amazing matches you’re likely to see, followed by Thompson falling to Steve Darcis was shocking, yet, gave you a sense that this team aren’t far away from a Davis Cup.
Coming out of 2017, Australian tennis felt like it was entering what could be a golden generation at Davis Cup level. The experience taken from the Belgium loss will be huge in shaping for the upcoming campaign and even on home soil, the men in green and gold will need to draw on every bit of it against the Germans.
Germany are likely to be led by two seeded players in world No.4 Alexander Zverev and brother Mischa, so getting wins in the singles is less than a sure thing.
(Image: Steven Pisano/ CC BY 2.0)
What we do know is the first man picked in Hewitt’s team is Nick Kyrgios. The World No.17 (soon to improve) has had an incredible summer of tennis.
Over the last 12 months, the Canberran has often talked about the Davis Cup being his greatest goal in tennis and the passion he plays with in the green and gold was evident in all three of Australia’s ties last year.
While the selection of Kyrgios has zero question marks hanging over it, his role in the opening tie of the year is huge. You’d think he has to win both of his singles matches if Germany are at full strength, even playing on home soil.
Jordan Thompson was spurred on brilliantly by the home crowd last year. His biggest win came in the shape of knocking over Jack Sock in the first rubber against the USA. It was probably the biggest win of his career at the time, but his form isn’t what it was last year.
He was knocked out in the first round of all three tournaments he has played – Brisbane, Sydney and the Australian Open and his form simply doesn’t warrant selection.
While watching him play reminds you of Hewitt in the way he is fast on the court and has plenty of fighting spirit, it’s hard to find a reason to pick him.
A change in the rules this year, allowing teams to pick five-playing members in the squad may be a saving grace for Thompson, but even then, there are plenty of others knocking on the door.
One of those is the up-and-coming Alex De Minaur. He had an outstanding run through the summer, making his first ATP semi-final and final at the Brisbane and Sydney International’s respectively.
(Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
He was bundled out of the Australian Open at the first hurdle by world No.19 Tomas Berdych, but took a set from the Czech Republican and played a strong brand of tennis. He was struggling with abdonimal issues throughout the later stages of the match which affected his serve, but alongside Kyrgios, he is the future of Aussie tennis.
The pair will one day take Australia to Davis Cup glory. Whether it’s too early for the 18-year-old is up to Hewitt to decide, but with a five-man team this year, he may well be included in the playing group.
At worst, he will again be around the team, picking up invaluable experience which he can use when he eventually gets a shot.
While Sam Groth has retired from tennis and won’t be selected, the doubles team is certain to be led by world No.4 John Peers. He and regular partner Henri Kontinen suffered a shock loss at the Australian Open, but Peers is expected to take Australia to victory.
A lack of partners is a slight concern for Australia. Lleyton Hewitt himself could become a playing captain after a strong run at the Australian Open, out of retirement to partner Groth in doubles, but that seems unlikely.
Instead, Thanasi Kokkinakis should bring a certain degree of versatility to the team. He had some promising results in doubles last year during what was his first year back on tour after playing just two matches in two years thanks to injury.
If needed, he could quite easily play singles on Sunday, even if his form hasn’t been top notch.
His results in doubles last year, mainly alongside Thompson suggest he would be a superb option to play alongside Peers though.
(AAP Image/Tony McDonough)
The other spots in the team are right up for grabs, and it could be a reason to include Thompson, but at the end of the day, it shouldn’t be.
Instead, Hewitt needs to consider Matthew Ebden. The world No.78 had a meteoric rise in 2017, coming from outside the top 300 in the world after struggling with injury. He had a great finish to the year, winning two challenger events.
That form has more-or-less carried over with a win over Frances Tiafoe in Brisbane before he took Kyrgios all the way to three sets. While he was dismissed from the first grand slam of the year in the second round, it followed a win over big-serving American John Isner.
Ebden has done everything he can to push for selection, but he will still need to beat out John Millman for the final spot seemingly. Millman won a challenger to end 2017 and has taken both Grigor Dimitrov and Gilles Muller all the way at Australian Open lead-up tournaments this year.
He is ranked outside the top 100, but like Ebden, had an impressive win in the first round of the Open, getting over the up-and-coming Borna Coric.
Whether it’s enough to retain the spot he held last year is up for debate, but he didn’t let anyone down when selected to take on David Goffin, winning the first set before being outplayed by a player over 100 spots better than him on the world rankings.
There really are very few other viable options for Hewitt, so expect him to name five for flexibility and expect the team to come from the seven talked about here. Bernard Tomic and youngster Akira Santillan are the next two in the world rankings, but for what it’s worth, neither are within cooee of being selected.
My team to play Germany
Alex De Minaur (backup option)
Matthew Ebden (singles No.2)
Nick Kyrgios (singles No.1)
Thanasi Kokkinakis (doubles)
John Peers (doubles)
Lleyton Hewitt (coach)
Changes from Belgium semi-final loss
Out – John Millman, Jordan Thompson
In – Thanasi Kokkinakis, Matthew Ebden, Alex De Minaur
Tie details
Date: Friday February 2 – Sunday February 4
Start time (AEDT): 1pm (Friday, Sunday), 2pm (Saturday)
Venue: Pat Rafter Arena, Brisbane
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