Lleyton Hewitt has confirmed Alex de Minaur will spearhead Australia’s team for next month’s Davis Cup Finals in Europe while Canberra’s Nick Kyrgios is absent from the squad.
John Millman, Jordan Thompson, Alexei Popyrin and doubles ace John Peers will travel to Turin to compete in the group stage against Croatia and Hungary from November 25.
Kyrgios confirmed last month’s Laver Cup would be his final tournament of the season but couldn’t say when he would play again.
“Definitely this is my last event of the year,” the 26-year-old said.
“I need to go back home. I have been travelling for four-and-a-half months now. My mum is not doing too well with her health. I’d like to go back and see her.
“Obviously, I’ll get my body right and I’ll start my pre-season, spend time with my family for the Australian Open and go from there. I will reassess.”
As revealed by AAP last month, James Duckworth, the Australian No.2 sitting at a career-high 51st in the world rankings, has been overlooked.
“Team selection is never easy,” Hewitt said on Tuesday.
“We will be led by our No.1 Alex de Minaur, who has had a really consistent three to four years on the tour and has established himself as a top player.
“John Millman gave us the opportunity to play in these Davis Cup Finals a year and a half ago in Adelaide against Brazil. He bleeds green and gold and loves representing Australia.
“Jordan Thompson has played some big matches in Davis Cup in the past. He had a great doubles win with John Peers, beating Colombia two years ago.
“He and ‘Peersy’ know how to play well together if they get the opportunity to play in one of our crucial doubles matches.
“Alexei Popyrin plays his best tennis in the biggest matches and the biggest tournaments. He has a lot of firepower and a lot of weapons and it’s nice to have another young gun in the team.
“And John Peers has been a consistent performer in our Davis Cup team for a number of years. We know what we get with Peersy, he’s had a big win at Indian Wells recently and we’re excited to see him bring this form to the Davis Cup Finals.”
Australian captain Hewitt said his team would arrive early in Italy to prepare like they usually do for a Davis Cup tie and focus on getting “through our group stage to give ourselves the opportunity again to go through to the knockout quarter-finals.”
Australian Davis Cup coaches Tony Roche and Jaymon Crabb will travel with the team, as will emerging star Rinky Hijikata, who takes up the role of orange boy and hitting partner.
The 20-year-old Sydney talent is currently studying at the University of North Carolina in the US.
The 18-nation finals feature six three-team groups, with all group winners plus the two best second-placed outfits advancing to the last eight.
Each tie comprises two best-of-three singles matches and one doubles fixture played on the same day.
The quarter-finals will take place in Turin, Innsbruck, Austria and Madrid with the Spanish capital to host the semi-finals and December 5 final.
AAP
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