Lleyton Hewitt facing major Davis Cup call after worrying Alex de Minaur signs in setback
The Aussie tennis favourite was not himself in the shock defeat.
Alex de Minaur has been eliminated at the European Open after a ‘lethargic’ performance and his display has only raised doubts over his participation in the Davis Cup. Lleyton’s Hewitt has been tossing up whether to include de Minaur in the Davis Cup team set to face the USA next month, but the Aussie has been under an injury cloud since Wimbledon.
And de Minaur’s latest performance will do little to help Hewitt’s decision after losing in three-sets to World No.77 Hugo Gaston. The loss for the top seed in Antwerp is a massive blow to his ATP Finals chances, but the manner of the defeat was also a concern.
The Aussie had a chance to gain points on Andrey Rublev after the eighth placed tennis player in the ATP Finals race was knocked out in the quarter-finals of the Nordic Open. However, de Minaur has done himself no favours after a lacklustre display to the hobbling French star.
Incredibly, Gaston was injured throughout the match and in the third set was hobbling between points. De Minaur wasn’t able to take advantage of this and was well-below his best having only won 48 per cent of his second serves throughout the match.
De Minaur’s setback is a blow to a maiden debut at the ATP Finals in Turin, but it is also a worry for Aussie Davis Cup captain Hewitt. The Aussie tennis icon has been discussing the possibility of selecting de Minaur to join the team as they look to defeat the USA in the quarter-final.
Although Hewitt has been weary of selecting the World No.9 who has been struggling with injury since Wimbledon. De Minaur reached the quarter-final at the US Open, but fell against Jack Draper as he looked succumbed to the same injury that saw him withdraw from Wimbledon.
Hewitt won’t select de Minaur unless he is able to give 100 per cent for his country having admitted the 25-year-old should maybe focus on his singles endeavours to round out 2024. “Obviously he’s got to get back out there and play to give himself a chance to still make it,” Hewitt said about de Minaur’s Davis Cup chances last week.
Unfortunately, fans were left frustrated with de Minaur’s huge drop in form as the World No.9 faces a battle to reach his made ATP Finals after a career-best year.
Lleyton Hewitt responds to Alex de Minaur chances
Earlier in the month, Hewitt admitted he was in constant conversation with de Minaur and the Aussie was battling away with injuries. “He’s had some small niggles in the past that I guess he could better understand what he needed to do to get over it, to get back to 100 per cent as quickly as possible. “This one has been a different case, and mentally it’s been more frustrating.
“As everyone saw, the effort that he put in in New York, for him on one leg, basically, to go out and make a quarter-final was pretty exceptional, and he’s still given himself a chance of being in the Turin (ATP) Finals by doing that as well. So he’s got to weigh up the priorities now as well.”
Aleksandar Vukic in career-best victory
While de Minaur struggle, Aleksandar Vukic prodcued one of his career-best matches to defeat Francis Tiafoe to reach the Almaty Open semi-finals. Vukic admitted he was nervous heading into the clash, but managed to pull through in a third-set tiebreak and reach his maiden Almaty Open semi-final.
“Pretty overwhelmed, that tiebreak was pretty crazy,” The World No.85 Aussie said after the win. “We were both a little bit nervous and the crowd was really getting into it, the atmosphere was great. I guess this is what it’s all about, you don’t feel emotions like this anywhere else. Happy to get through and go again tomorrow.”
