Australian world No.24 Alex de Minaur to lead Davis Cup team with no Nick Kyrgios

Australia will take the next step in its pursuit of the Davis Cup without superstar Nick Kyrgios.

Alex de Minaur will spearhead Australia’s Davis Cup hopes. Picture: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

Nick Kyrgios won’t be reuniting with doubles partner Thanasi Kokkinakis or playing singles when Australia features in next month’s Davis Cup quarter-final showdown with the Netherlands after electing not to join the team again.

Instead, world No.24 Alex de Minaur will pilot a team that includes Kokkinakis and doubles specialists Matt Ebden and Max Purcell in flying the Australian flag in Spain.

Wimbledon finalist and world no.20 Kyrgios hasn’t played Davis Cup since 2019 and Australian captain Lleyton Hewitt said the players he picked had made “a lot of sacrifices” to give the team what he called a “massive opportunity” to lift the Davis Cup trophy.

“Alex (de Minaur) has had a fantastic Davis Cup record this year. He’s played some of his best tennis in Davis Cup,” Hewitt said.

“He’s gone from strength to strength in this competition over the last few years and he’s going to help lead us again in our quarter-final match against the Netherlands.

“Thanasi Kokkinakis did everything that we asked of him in Sydney earlier in the year against Hungary to get us into the group stage of the Davis Cup finals.

“He was able to win that clincher for us in the fifth rubber, which was massive against (Zsombor) Piros. And then played really well in his last match in Hamburg against Germany, winning that match in the No.1 singles slot. I think he’s got a very dangerous game and especially on the indoor surface.”

Nick Kyrgios last played Davis Cup in 2019. Picture: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

It’s the third year in a row Australia has reached the Davis Cup finals, while the Netherlands will make their first finals appearance since 2005.

Australia took down Hungary in Sydney in March and then Belgium and France to finish Group C runner-up in Hamburg, setting up the quarter-final showdown.

“It’s been a good run so far on the way to the finals, we’ve done absolutely everything but there is still a way to go,” Hewitt said.

“If we can find a way to get through the quarter-final stage then it really opens up, it’s a massive opportunity to be only a couple of matches away from potentially holding up the Davis Cup trophy this year, which is a huge goal, not just for the coaching team, myself, Jaymon Crabb and Tony Roche but also for the players.

Australian Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt encourages Alex de Minaur. Picture: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

“They’ve made a lot of sacrifices to give us the best opportunity to have a crack at the Davis Cup and we’re awfully close this year and want to go out there and make the most of these opportunities.”

The winner of the tie will play the winner of Croatia versus Spain in the semi-finals, with the US, Italy, Canada and Germany on the other side of the draw.