John Millman, Alex de Minaur give Aussies impressive win over Canada at ATP Cup

Alex de Minaur took down another big gun and John Millman - stepping up in the absence of Nick Kyrgios - produced the goods as Australia took a step closer to the ATP Cup quarterfinals with a win over Canada.

John Millman of Australia celebrates winning his match against Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada during day 3 of the ATP Cup tennis tournament at Pat Rafter Arena in Brisbane, Sunday, January 5, 2020. (AAP Image/Darren England) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY

No Nick Kyrgios, no worries for Australia.

Australia captain Lleyton Hewitt said he would have no qualms again calling on John Millman against Greece on Tuesday night if Kyrgios fails to recover from a sore back.

Millman stepped into the breach on Sunday when Kyrgios withdrew from Australia’s Group F ATP clash with Canada at Pat Rafter Arena.

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Alex de Minaur has been in electric form in Brisbane.

Millman proved a more than capable replacement, beating Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4 6-2 to give Australia a 1-0 lead early.

Alex de Minaur sealed the tie, fighting back from a set and a break down to beat world No.15 Denis Shapovalov 6-7 6-4 6-2.

And for good measure, Australia made it a clean sweep doubles pairing Chris Guccione and John Peers winning a super tie-breaker to beat Auger-Aliassime and Adil Shamasdin 3-6 7-6 10-8.

Having disposed of Germany 3-0 on Friday night, Australia’s success on Sunday puts them in the box seat to reach the quarter-finals.

Hewitt said Kyrgios’ fitness would be assessed on Monday

“He was a bit stiff and sore (on Saturday) afternoon after he hit, so I guess I had it in the back of my mind that it was a strong possibility that (he wouldn’t play yesterday),” Hewitt said.

John Millman celebrates his win over Felix Auger-Aliassime. Picture: AAP

“It’s more a precaution than anything with Nick. He hasn’t played a lot of matches. He probably hasn’t had the biggest pre-season either, so after his first round he was probably going to pull up a bit sore.

“But … we have got a third guy there as well, and yeah, I was pretty happy in Brisbane when Johnny got the call up.

“In these conditions on this court here in Brisbane, I haven’t seen him play a bad match yet.

“I had full confidence once he was out there. I knew what we were going to get out of him - he handled the situation perfectly.”

Hewitt was just as thrilled about the performance of de Minaur, who produced another gutsy and winning display hot on the heels of his memorable three-set victory over Germany’s world No.7 Alexander Zverev on Friday night.

De Minaur celebrates his win with Nick Kyrgios.

“Denis is an absolute quality player … (I’m) so proud of the way Alex was able to hang in there,” Hewitt said.

“He had a bit of a flat spot there, but after you lose such a tight first set as well, that’s always going to happen.

“He’s got to learn from that for the future, but … he’s done all the hard work in the pre-season and it’s paying off.”

De Minaur was “very proud” of his win.

“I would love to take care of things a bit easier, but you’ve got to play the cards you’re dealt,” he said.

“I managed to turn things around.”