Lleyton Hewitt has full confidence his Davis Cup team will survive an “awfully tough group” despite the absence of their top-ranked star.
Alex de Minaur‘s withdrawal is a heavy blow for the Australian team, which is looking to bid farewell to a 21-year title drought in the tournament.
A lingering hip injury has compromised the world number 11 in recent tournaments, causing him to pull out of the Wimbledon quarter finals and men’s singles draw at the Olympics.
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De Minaur battled the injury to qualify for the US Open quarter finals, where he was defeated in straight sets by Great Britain’s Jack Draper.
Hewitt, the team captain, confirmed de Minaur would remain sidelined for the group stage in France, set to start on Wednesday (AEST).
“Alex has done some incredible stuff in the Davis Cup over the last three or four years,” he said.
“But he’s been battling since Wimbledon and he hasn’t really been close to 100 per cent. He was desperate to play, but in the end it really wasn’t much of a choice.”
Alexei Popyrin, Jordan Thompson, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Max Purcell and Matt Ebden are set to take centre stage for Australia in France on Tuesday evening (AEST).
The team will face Group B rivals France, Czech Republic and Spain.
Hewitt brushed off any concerns with his team without de Minaur, pointing to the results and form showcased by its members at the US Open.
“I’ve got so much belief in the five guys here with me,” he said.
“They know how much confidence I have in them as individuals. I think they’ve all had stellar careers. This year on a personal note as well – some massive highlights.
“We are going to back ourselves against anyone. These guys put in the hard yards, not just this week leading into this, but throughout the year.
“It’s a tough group, but I think any match in Davis Cup is tough.
“They’ll be full of confidence when we start.
“I expect us to go out there and compete hard and play well, and I think we’re a good shot.”
Hewitt admitted his team will need to be in top form to remain a leading contender to win the tournament.
“[Depth of talent] It’s a good problem to have. These boys know it’s going to be a team effort, as it has been the last couple of years,” said Hewitt.
“You want to put yourself in the position to have a chance of winning it. For a number of years we were in the wilderness a bit and didn’t have the opportunity to have a chance of trying to hold up the trophy.
“The last couple of years we’ve put ourselves in that position. We know what it feels like, we’re going to be better for the experience.
“That’s the plus side, but we’ve fallen one match short, and that’s why we’re here again this year to have another crack.”
Australia has not played since its 2023 final defeat to Italy, which saw the team earn direction qualification into the 2024 Davis Cup Finals Group Stage.
Hewitt’s team will open their group games against France in the early hours of Wednesday morning, before facing Czech Republic on Thursday, September 12 (AEST).
Carlos Alcaraz will return to action at the tournament with two grand slam titles under his belt, facing Australia at 7pm (AEST) on Sunday, September 15.
The top two teams from the group stage will advance to the knockout stage in November.