Lleyton Hewitt is Australia’s Davis Cup and United captain and is preparing for this year’s Davis Cup finals in Malaga.
Hewitt, a two-time Grand Slam Champion, has been Australia’s Davis Cup captain since 2016 and saw his side taste defeat in both the 2022 and 2023 finals.
Australian tennis is in a good place on the ATP Tour with nine players sat inside the world’s top 100 and a number of stars having breakout years in 2024.
25-year-old Alexei Popyrin won the Montreal Open earlier this year, becoming the first Australian to win a Masters 1000 event since Hewitt.
Alex de Minaur has also been making waves, establishing himself in the world’s top ten by making three of the four Grand Slam quarter-finals in 2024.
It’s the biggest name in Australian tennis, however, that Hewitt is looking at ahead of the 2025 Australian Open.
Lleyton Hewitt says it won’t be ‘easy’ for Nick Kyrgios at the Australian Open
Whilst Nick Kyrgios won’t be available for the Davis Cup Finals later this year or the United Cup in 2025, he remains the biggest name in Australian tennis, and fans are excited ahead of his long-awaited return.
When asked about how Kyrgios will fare upon his injury return, Australia’s Davis Cup captain was aware of the challenges ahead of him.
“It’s not easy,” Hewitt said.
“It’s five sets, it’s going to be interesting to see how many matches he gets under his belt leading into it.”
He did however, recognise that Kyrgios could spring an upset or two in Melbourne.
“Nick has a lot of firepower and weapons.
“If he’s serving well he’s going to cause anyone havoc out there,” he said.
Why has Nick Kyrgios been away from tennis for so long?
Injuries have plagued the former Wimbledon finalist for some time now, and fans have only seen Kyrgios play one match since the end of 2022.
2022 had been a career year for Kyrgios, who won the Australian Open doubles title, and reached the final of Wimbledon where he came up short against Novak Djokovic.
An injury at the beginning of Kyrgios’ 2023 season began a long list of problems for the Australian, that have kept him out of action for nearly two years.
Kyrgios recently revealed the extent of his injuries, which had his surgeon warning him not to play tennis ever again.
The controversial Australian has remained adamant that he will return to the ATP Tour and try one more time to bring home a Grand Slam title.
Kyrgios is currently scheduled to return to the court at the World Tennis League exhibition event in Abu Dhabi this December.
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