The Australian tennis captain might have to sit his highest-ranked player if he wants to make the final.
You can’t keep doing the same thing and getting the same undesirable result. And that’s why Lleyton Hewitt might be forced to dump Alex de Minaur for Australia’s Davis Cup semi-final against Italy on Saturday night.
With the Netherlands waiting in the final of the prestigious $4 million event, Australia will do battle with Italy for the chance to play in the decider. But the Aussies will have to go through World No.1 Jannik Sinner to get there, and de Minaur’s horror record against the Italian star might force captain Hewitt to make an unthinkable move.
De Minaur is World No.9 and has enjoyed the best year of his tennis career to date. He lives and breathes Davis Cup and would run through a brick wall for Hewitt and his country.
But the 25-year-old is seemingly no chance to beat Sinner in the singles – and a career head-to-head record of 8-0 in Sinner’s favour shows exactly why. Dating back to 2019 when they first played at the Next Gen ATP Finals, de Minaur has never beaten Sinner in eight attempts, and has only ever won a single set against the Italian.
Sinner has won in straight-sets in their last six matches, most recently at the ATP Finals earlier this month when de Minaur was trounced 6-3 6-4. Sinner appears to know de Minaur’s game inside-and-out, and exactly how to take him down.
Coupled with the fact that de Minaur isn’t at full fitness and still struggling with the hip injury he first suffered at Wimbledon, it doesn’t make any sense to send him out against Sinner. De Minaur was blown away by Taylor Fritz in the quarter-final against the USA, before Thanasi Kokkinakis won the second singles rubber and Australia clinched the tie with victory to Jordan Thompson and Matt Ebden in the doubles.
Alexei Popyrin might be better option against Jannik Sinner
Hewitt could opt to switch his order and send Kokkinakis out against Sinner, but his 0-4 record against the World No.1 isn’t good either. The better option might be to use Alexei Popyrin, who has also enjoyed a breakout year and risen to a career-high of World No.24.
And crucially, he beat Sinner in their only previous match-up back in 2021. His past success and the fact Sinner hasn’t seen much of Popyrin might make him the perfect play for Hewitt and the Aussies – and it would certainly take Italy by surprise. Sinner has never faced Thompson either, making the World No.26 a viable option as well.
But if Hewitt decides he can’t afford to play de Minaur against Sinner, he might have to leave him out altogether. The Aussie captain will be hard-pressed finding a reason not to play Kokkinakis, who always shows up and plays his best when playing for his country in Davis Cup.
Kokkinakis produced a stunning win over Ben Shelton in the quarter-final after saving four match points, and has won his last four matches at Davis Cup level. Hewitt continues to back Kokkinakis and show loyalty in the World No.77, despite the 28-year-old being ranked more than 50 places below both Popyrin and Thompson.
Axing de Minaur would also likely break Hewitt’s heart considering how close they are. Hewitt has become a mentor and unofficial coach for de Minaur in the last few years, and de Minaur is extremely close with Hewitt’s family – especially wife Bec and son Cruz.
Netherlands to play Australia or Italy in Davis Cup final
Italy are expected to use World No.17 Lorenzo Musetti in the second singles rubber. Popyrin is also 1-0 in his career against Musetti, with de Minaur is 1-1, Kokkinakis is 0-1 and Thompson is 0-2.
The winner of Australia’s clash with Italy will play the Netherlands in Sunday night’s final. The Dutch beat Germany 2-0 in the first semi-final, with Botic van de Zandschulp beating Daniel Altmaier 6-4 6-7 (12-14) 6-3 before Tallon Griekspoor came from behind to take down Jan-Lennard Struff 6-7 (4-7) 7-5 6-4. It marks the first time in the 124 years of Davis Cup that Netherlands have made the final.
