Hewitt reckons tough task against Britain

Darwin - Australia, 28-time winners, fought back from 0-2 down to overhaul Kazakhstan 3-2 in Darwin on Sunday with 34-year-old Hewitt winning the fifth and decisive singles rubber.

By AFP

  • Follow us on
  • google-news
  • whatsapp
  • telegram

Published: Tue 21 Jul 2015, 4:45 PM

Team warrior Lleyton Hewitt says it will be tough for Australia to win this year's Davis Cup after learning their semifinal opponents will be Andy Murray's Great Britain in September.
Australia, 28-time winners, fought back from 0-2 down to overhaul Kazakhstan 3-2 in Darwin on Sunday with 34-year-old Hewitt winning the fifth and decisive singles rubber.
World number three Murray set up a potentially epic Davis Cup semi-final against them when he spearheaded Great Britain's 3-1 quarter-final win over France in London.
Hewitt, who will take over as the Australian team's non-playing captain next year, said after Sunday's triumph that he knows it will be a tricky challenge for his youthful side. "We're on the tougher side of the draw," he said. "Argentina play Belgium in the other half, which is probably the weaker section."
The never-say-die Hewitt, who is aiming to add to the Davis Cup titles he won in 1999 and 2003, said that over the past three or four years the event had been as big as any Grand Slam for him. "When I make my schedule, everything has worked around the Davis Cup and trying to get the most out of myself," he said. "I feel like I can still play a mentor role in the team at the moment, especially on the doubles court. "But these young guys (like Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis) are the future of our team, and right at the moment I'm just trying to help them out as much as possible."
Hewitt and Sam Groth were the last-day heroes against Kazakhstan after Davis Cup captain Wally Masur went to them over young stars Kyrgios and Kokkinakis, who lost Friday's opening singles. - AFP



More news from