Darwin, Australia: Team warrior Lleyton Hewitt says it will be tough for Australia to win this year’s Davis Cup after learning their semi-final opponents will be Andy Murray’s Great Britain in September.
Australia, 28-time winners, fought back from 2-0 down to overhaul Kazakhstan 3-2 in Darwin on Sunday, with 34-year-old Hewitt winning the fifth and decisive singles rubber.
World number three Murray set up a potentially epic Davis Cup semi-final against them when he spearheaded Great Britain’s 3-1 quarter-final win over France in London.
Hewitt, who will take over as the Australian team’s non-playing captain next year, said after Sunday’s triumph that he knows it will be a tricky challenge for his youthful side.
“We’re on the tougher side of the draw,” he said.
“Argentina play Belgium in the other half, which is probably the weaker section.”
The never-say-die Hewitt, who is aiming to add to the Davis Cup titles he won in 1999 and 2003, said that over the past three or four years the event had been as big as any Grand Slam for him.
“When I make my schedule, everything has worked around the Davis Cup and trying to get the most out of myself,” he said.
“I feel like I can still play a mentor role in the team at the moment, especially on the doubles court.
“But these young guys [like Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis] are the future of our team, and right at the moment I’m just trying to help them out as much as possible.”
Hewitt and Sam Groth were the last-day heroes against Kazakhstan after Davis Cup captain Wally Masur went to them over young stars Kyrgios and Kokkinakis, who lost Friday’s opening singles.
Hewitt and Groth joined forces to win Saturday’s pivotal doubles, before triumphing in their singles matches on Sunday.
Masur, meanwhile, said he was confident bad-boy Bernard Tomic will be able to sort out his issues with Tennis Australia in time to link up with the team for the semi-final.
“At the end of the day, we are a pretty small fraternity of tennis players and I hate to think there is someone like a satellite operating individually,” he said.
“I would like to think that we are all in this together.”
Tomic was dumped from the quarter-final showdown against Kazakhstan after a tirade at TA boss Craig Tiley and director of player performance Pat Rafter following his Wimbledon exit.
The world number 25 made more headlines last week when he was arrested in Miami after a noisy penthouse party.
Murray, meanwhile, insists he is willing to put his body on the line again to keep Britain on course for Davis Cup glory.
Murray played through the pain barrier to grind out a 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3, 6-0 victory over France’s Gilles Simon on Sunday that secured Britain’s first last four appearance since 1981.
The showdown with Australia will take place from September 18-20, just a week after the conclusion of the US Open, and Murray is already adamant he will play even if he makes the latter stages in New York.
“We are in the semi-finals now and every match is going to be extremely important. I think I will find a way [to play],” he said.
“I’ll do it because I believe we can win. Also because I love the team and the people around it.
“I’ve always enjoyed playing Davis Cup but right now we are in the World Group playing in big matches against fantastic players. It’s hard not to get up for that.
“Obviously it does come at a price. I would have taken 10 days off after Wimbledon, but the memories of the unbelievable atmosphere you have in the Davis Cup, you don’t get that in other matches.”
