Lleyton Hewitt is set to confirm that he will be the new captain of the Australian Davis Cup team after calling for a press conference at Melbourne Park on Tuesday morning.
According to sources at Fox Sports Australia, the 34-year-old will take over from Wally Masur, who guided Australia to the Davis Cup semifinals this year. Hewitt has been a prominent member of the Davis Cup team throughout his career. He has played 78 matches (56 singles and 22 doubles), winning 50 of them.
Australian media sources have reported that Hewitt was unanimously selected out of two applicants and negotiations was completed on Monday. Hewitt will be Australia’s seventh Davis Cup captain in 66 years.
Tennis Australia’s director of player performance, Pat Rafter, recently endorsed Hewitt for the position by citing his experience and strong relationship with the players on the team.
“He’s vastly experienced, he knows the players, the opponents as well, having been close to the tour, and he gets on well with everybody”. Rafter said.
“Obviously there was a time when he and Bernie (Tomic) didn’t get on well, but that’s history and he’s very passionate and he knows his stuff.”.
Hewitt will end his career at the Australian Open in January where he will play in the tournament for the 20th consecutive time in his career.
The first tie for Hewitt’s captaincy could be Australia’s tie against America in the first round of the World group in March.
