By Tennis Now | @Tennis_Now | Monday, September 16, 2024
Picture credit score: Clive Brunskill/Getty for ITF
Lleyton Hewitt treasures Davis Cup competitors, however asserts the demanding Davis Cup scheduled can trash gamers’ our bodies.
Corridor of Famer and Australian captain Hewitt praised his gamers for qualifying for the Davis Cup Last 8 then ripped the format which pressured some gamers to fly instantly from New York the place they’d performed the US Open to Spain for the Davis Cup Group B competitors in Valencia, Spain.
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The 2023 Davis Cup finalist Australia beat Czechia and France earlier than bowing to Spain to safe its spot for the Davis Cup Last 8 in Malaga, Spain, November 19-Twenty fourth.
Hewitt stated he is delighted by the dedication his gamers confirmed, however is aggravated by the Davis Cup calendar that required Max Purcell, who partnered Jordan Thompson to the US Open doubles championship on Saturday, September seventh, to play a Davis Cup doubles match on Tuesday in Valencia. Hewitt known as the calendar “ridiculous.”
“We got here with one purpose: to qualify for the Finals, and we’ve got achieved it. I am very pleased with the blokes and the hassle they’ve put in,” Hewitt stated. “It isn’t simple this week within the calendar.
“Asking them to play two days after a Grand Slam ends isn’t simple. Within the outdated format you additionally needed to do it, however you did not play till Friday. Enjoying on Tuesday is ridiculous. I can not be prouder of my guys and the hassle they’ve made, the entire nation is proud and we’ll be prepared for November.”
The draw for the Davis Cup Last 8 shall be carried out on Thursday, September nineteenth.
Australia will face both defending-champion Italy or the USA in its Davis Cup Finals tie.
Captain Hewitt, who favored the standard home-and-away Davis Cup ties of the previous, says he’ll proceed to complain concerning the format whereas attempting to assist Australia reclaim the Davis Cup.
“That’s the silly a part of this format, isn’t it? You realize, I can hold saying it,” Hewitt stated. “However the format is what it’s, and we’ll do what we have to do to get by and provides ourselves an opportunity of hopefully holding up the trophy.”
