ATP Cup scores, result: Nick Kyrgios, Alex de Minaur score epic doubles win
Nick Kyrgios and Alex de Minaur have entered Australian tennis folklore following an epic ATP Cup doubles decider against old rival Great Britain.
- Lleyton's warning: You're one slip up from losing it
- Kyrgios leaps to defence of rival's temper tantrum
Lleyton Hewitt’s shock gamble to play Alex de Minaur and Nick Kyrgios in Australia’s tie-deciding doubles match paid off, as Australia edged Great Britain 3-6 6-3 (18-16) in an epic 30-minute tiebreaker.
De Minaur and Kyrgios survived four match points and were rewarded on their own fifth match point to book Australia’s ticket in the ATP Cup semi-finals at Ken Rosewall Arena.
After losing his singles rubber to Dan Evans 6-7 6-4 6-7 in a thrilling three hour and 23 minute slog, de Minaur said he was ecstatic to redeem himself for Australia.
“Obviously it stings a bit. It’s a match that I obviously did not want to lose, and I felt like I couldn’t have done much more out there. I left it all out there,” de Minaur said.
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“Tell you what, after I got called up for the doubles, I had already forgotten about the singles, and with the doubles win, I mean, it’s one of the best days of my life. Not gonna lie.”
Kyrgios got Australia off to the perfect start as he breezed past Cameron Norrie 6-2 6-2 in the first tie.
The world No.29 said that the win one of his career highlights and that Australia is thriving in the team format.
“The whole team was, we genuinely care for each other, and they were genuinely just so ecstatic to get through. Johnny Millman, he was on the bench the whole day, getting up, supporting both of us.”
The nail-biting doubles victory saw Australia take out the tie 2-1 sends Hewitt’s team into a semi final match up against either Belgium or Spain.
THE CAPTAIN’S CALL
Hewitt’s last-minute doubles switch up was unexpected, given Team Australia’s usual duo John Peers and Chris Guccione have stormed through the tournament undefeated.
Sending an exhausted de Minaur and Kyrgios out to battle experienced duo Murray and Salisbury - instead of current doubles world No.25 Peers - left many scratching their heads.
And after the Brits steamrolled their opponents 6-3 in the first set, most were certain that Hewitt had botched Australia’s chances.
But in the end, Hewitt’s gamble paid off as de Minaur and Kyrgios mustered a comeback for the ages and stumped their opponents, who were expecting to take on Peers and Guccione.
“It was a tough decision. I knew those guys were an absolute quality doubles team, too,” Hewitt said.
“I knew these two would gel well together, as well. I have been around enough practice sessions that I have seen these two on the doubles court together, and we spoke about it, and, you know, the boys were pumped.”
Coming into the match, Salisbury and Murray - current doubles world no.22 and 23 - had only had their service broken once throughout the ATP Cup.
But Hewitt knew knew in his gut that de Minaur and Kyrgios would get the job done.
“Weighing up how Alex was going to be feeling after the singles, the kind of kid he is ... I was pretty confident he was going to be able to go out there and give 100 per cent for us,” Hewitt said.
“And then obviously Nick ... I couldn’t really afford to have him sitting on the sidelines with how well he served in the singles.”
“In this format, these doubles matches come down to one or two points as we saw … I had a lot of faith in these two.”
TENNIS BRO-MANCE
Kyrgios and de Minaur seem to bring the best out of each other - both on and off the court.
Kyrgios credited their incredible doubles performance down to the strong connection they share and his ability to calm de Minaur on court
“I know that the more level-headed you are in those moments you can think clearly,” Kyrgios said.
“We were down match point, and he was pretty angry and I just said, Man, you’re fine. And then he hit a backhand line winner. And I was, like, See?”
When asked whether de Minaur is up to potentially facing world No.1 Rafael Nadal on Saturday night, Kyrios was quick to back the Demon.
“Obviously. That’s the stupidest question I have ever heard” he responded.