From Tennis Now | @Tennis_Now | Monday, September 16, 2024
Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty for ITF
Lleyton Hewitt treasures Davis Cup competition, but claims that the required Davis Cup scheduled could wipe out players’ bodies.
Hall of Famer and Australian captain Hewitt praised his players for reaching the Davis Cup Final 8 and then dropped the format that forced some players to fly straight from New York where they had been playing the US Open in Spain for Davis Cup Group B competition in Valencia, Spain.
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Davis Cup 2023 finalists Australia beat the Czech Republic and France before bowing out to Spain to book their place for the Davis Cup Final 8 in Malaga, Spain, November 19-24.
Hewitt said he was pleased with the commitment his players showed but was frustrated by the demanding Davis Cup schedule. Max Purcell, who was a partner Jordan Thompson at the US Open doubles championship on Saturday, Sept. 7, to play a Davis Cup doubles match on Tuesday in Valencia. Hewitt called the calendar “ridiculous.”
“We came with one goal: to qualify for the final and we’ve achieved that. I’m very proud of the boys and the effort they’ve put in,” Hewitt said. “This week on the calendar is not easy.
“To ask them to play two days after finishing a Grand Slam is not easy. In the old format you had to do it too, but you didn’t play until Friday. Playing on Tuesday is ridiculous. I can’t be anymore proud of the boys and the efforts they have made, the whole country is proud and we will be ready for November”.
The draw for the Davis Cup Final 8 will take place on Thursday 19 September.
Australia will face either defending champions Italy or the United States in their Davis Cup finals match.
Captain Hewitt, who favored traditional Davis Cup matches in the past, home and away, says he will continue to complain about the format as he tries to help Australia reclaim the Davis Cup.
“That’s the thick part of this format, isn’t it? You know, I could keep saying it,” Hewitt said. “But the format is what it is, and we’re going to do what we have to do to get through and give ourselves a chance to hopefully we keep the trophy”.
