By Erik Gudris | Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Lleyton Hewitt, serving as a playing captain, will replace Nick Kyrgios in the upcoming Australia vs. U.S. Davis Cup tie.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
He’s back!
Just a month after announcing his retirement, Lleyton Hewitt may once again play a competitive tennis match. This time at the upcoming Australia versus U.S. Davis Cup tie in Kooyong.
Hewitt, currently serving as Australia’s captain, added his name to the four-man squad in order to replace an ailing Nick Kyrgios.
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The announcement came on Thursday morning down under even though Kyrgios did have a practice session the other day. According to The Age, team medical staff ruled out Kyrgios who continues to suffer from a virus contracted last week in Dubai.
Hewitt rounds out the Australian team that includes Bernard Tomic, Sam Groth, and John Peers.
“The illness is a kind of an unknown a little bit. You just don't know,” Hewitt said about Kyrgios. “But obviously before nine o'clock this morning we had to make the best possible decision for the team, and we were dealing with Nick on everything. He wanted to put his hand up and certainly didn't want to let the team down, and that's why it was a tough decision for everyone involved."
At the draw ceremony, Groth was chosen to face John Isner in the first singles rubber. They will be followed by Tomic taking on Jack Sock.
Groth and Peers were announced to face the Bryan Brothers in Saturday’s doubles. Yet, it’s possible Hewitt may substitute himself in the doubles as he played all last year with Groth and at January’s Australian Open.
“You got to have backups and I pride myself on preparation so I'm confident we can win,” Hewitt said about his team during a post-draw press conference.
U.S. Captain Jim Courier seemed to take the news of Hewitt all in stride.
“We're not surprised but we certainly wasn't expecting that coming down to Australia,” Courier said.
A playing captain during a Davis Cup tie is not new.
The U.S. leads Australia in their overall Davis Cup head to head record 25 to 20. This will be their first meeting since 1999 when Hewitt led Australia to a 4-1 win over the U.S. with a team featuing Jim Courier.