World No. 23 Alexei Popyrin led a five-man team led by captain Lleyton Hewitt in the eighth round of the Davis Cup final in Malaga in November.
September 24, 2024 | Tennis.com.au with AAP
Alexei Popyrin will front a five-man Davis Cup party that advanced past the group stage earlier this month for Australia’s quarter-final against the United States in November.
If Hewitt’s men clear the hurdle, Italy, led by world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, could prevent a third successive final appearance.
Jordan Thompson, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Max Purcell and Matthew Ebden make up Australia’s five-man squad for the Malaga Climax, with the current team captain are eager to end a drought that stretches back more than 20 years, to 2003, when Hewitt was playing.
> Read more: Australia qualifies for Round 8 of Davis Cup finals in November
It’s a strong unit with Popyrin and Thompson, the ATP Masters 1000 champion in Montreal and winner of the US Open over Novak Djokovic, both ranked in the top 30, while Purcell and Ebden are Grand Slam doubles winners ranked fifth and eighth in the world respectively. . There still remains hope that singles world number 11 De Minaur can return.
“He will do everything to get back as quickly as possible,” Hewitt said last week, adding that the pair were still working through the recovery timeline.
Aussie, Aussie, Aussie 🇦🇺#DavisCup | @TennisAustralia pic.twitter.com/1zTvQRjNvY
— Davis Cup (@DavisCup) September 23, 2024
Bob Bryan’s American quintet includes three top 20 singles players – Taylor Fritz (world No. 7), Tommy Paul (No. 13) and Ben Shelton (No. 17) – and two doubles players Rajeev Ram (No. 10). there is. and Austin Krycek (28th).
With Spain appointing both Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal, the world’s attention may turn to the other half of the draw, with captain David Ferrer also holding the world’s No. 1 doubles ranking, but the Paris Olympics ‘Nadalcaraz’ partnership again. The prospect of reaching a conclusion has increased. 1 Selected by Marcel Granollers.
> Read more: Popyrin wins Australia’s narrow Davis Cup loss to Spain
Australia squad (Davis Cup final, Malaga, Spain, 19-24 November): Alexey Popyrin, Jordan Thompson, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Max Purcell, Matthew Ebden. Captain: Lleyton Hewitt.
Quarterfinals: Australia vs. USA, Italy vs. Argentina, Spain vs. Netherlands, Canada vs. Germany.
