New world No.12 Alex de Minaur has put going one better than last year’s runner-up finish in the Davis Cup at the top of his priority list after being named to spearhead a team once again without injured star Nick Kyrgios.
Thanasi Kokkinakis, who Australian captain Lleyton Hewitt says has the “firepower” to take it to the world’s best, joins de Minaur in the team along with resurgent Jordan Thompson, Max Purcell and world No.9 doubles player Matt Ebden for the finals group stage in Manchester next month.
Kyrgios, who has been reluctant to play Davis Cup in recent seasons, has played just one tour match in 2023 and withdrew from the upcoming US Open citing a wrist injury, making it impossible for Hewitt to even consider him.
Australia has been drawn in Group B alongside Great Britain, France and Switzerland and de Minaur, fresh off achieving his career-high ranking following defeat in the ATP Masters 1000 event in Toronto, said he was motivated to build on last year’s effort.
De Minaur’s ascent to 12th in the world makes him Australia’s highest-ranked men’s player since Lleyton Hewitt shared the mark in July, 2006.
The Australians lost in the final to Canada, but the runner-up finish was the best in nearly two decades.
“I think what motivates us is to try and get one better than we did last year,” de Minaur said.
“We got so close to being able to lift that Davis Cup trophy, that gave us a lot of fire in the belly to come back and go for more.
“In Manchester we have a very tough group, a lot of very good players. Very dangerous, players and nations, so it’s going to be very tough. We have to come together as a team and hopefully be able to put a strong performance in both the singles and doubles.”
Hewitt said selecting the team for Manchester was tough, but those picked were playing some of the best tennis of their careers.
“There’s been a lot of really good performances not only in singles but also doubles throughout the year,” Hewitt said.
“Alex de Minaur has played some of his best tennis in Davis Cup, so we’re very fortunate to have him spearheading us again going into Manchester. He’s come off a fantastic run in Toronto.
“Jordan Thompson played some really good tennis in Washington only a couple of weeks ago on the hard courts, but also I thought he played one of his best matches he has ever played when he played Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon earlier this year.
“Max Purcell, he’s another player who can play singles or doubles. He’s had some big wins in singles this year and got his ranking into a position where he can play all the big tournaments. We all know what a quality doubles player he is as well.
“Thanasi Kokkinakis, another fantastic ball striker who is capable of playing a lot better tennis than where his ranking’s at. He has the firepower to put a lot of players under pressure.
“And Matt Ebden has played a lot of big matches for us. He played fantastic in Hamburg last year in the doubles. He’s had an incredible year and is top 10 in doubles.”
The Australians would need to finish in the top two in their group to again progress to the finals in Spain in November.
“We’re in a really tough group in Manchester,” Hewitt said.
“They’re all quality teams and we’re going to have to be on our game in every single match and every rubber against all three nations.
“Our main focus is to finish in the top two and we have to somehow give ourselves an opportunity to get to Malaga again in November. We’ll be doing absolutely everything in our power.”
AUSTRALIAN DAVIS CUP MATCHES
(Matches in Manchester, UK)
Australia v Great Britain – Wednesday, September 13
Australia v France – Thursday, September 14
Australia v Switzerland – Saturday, September 16
