Nick Kyrgios and Matt Reid congratulate Lleyton Hewitt after being named Aussie Davis Cup captain
Fellow tennis stars had sent well-wishes and a few words of congratulations to celebrate two-time grand slam champion Lleyton Hewitt’ssc recent accomplishment after the latter has been named the captain of the Australian Davis Cup team.
Nick Kyrgios, who was recently dismissed in the opening round of the Valencia Open, was one of the first to congratulate Hewitt. The Canberra native said in a tweet that the former World No. 1 Australian tennis star deserved his new undertaking. Matt Reid also made sure not to miss giving his former doubles partner a pat on the back.
Tennis Australia (TA) reported that Hewitt’s first duty as Davis Cup captain will take place in March when Australia faces the United States in the first round of the World Group tie, much in the same way when the 34-year-old made his debut in the tournament 15 years ago when he represented Australia and won his singles rubbers against Todd Martin and Alex O’Brien. Hewitt played for 41 ties and owns a 58-20 win-loss record in Davis Cup.
TA President Steve Healy said that Hewitt, who will play his last tournament at the 2016 Australian Open, is the perfect fit to replace Wally Masur for the position. TA Chief Executive Officer Craig Tiley added that Hewitt is the “embodiment of the Davis Cup spirit.”
Hewitt is the 19th captain of Australia’s Davis Cup team. He joins the likes of other tennis stars to have been assigned the same position in the past 65 years. Harry Hopman served as captain from 1950 to 1969 and led the country to 16 Davis Cup titles. After Hopman, Neale Fraser captained Australia in 1970 until 1994 and led Australia to four Davis Cup titles. John Newcombe became the captain from 1995 to 2000, John Fitzgerald from 2001 to 2010, and lastly, Masur from 2011 to 2015.
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