Facing GB in the Davis Cup a daunting task, says Hewitt

Australia won 3-2 against Kazakhstan to set up semi-final clash with 1936 champions.

LONDON/ DARWIN: Lleyton Hewitt says it will be tough for Australia to win this year’s Davis Cup after learning their semi-final opponents will be Andy Murray’s Great Britain in September.

Australia, 28-time winners, fought back from 0-2 down to overhaul Kazakhstan 3-2 in Darwin on Sunday with 34-year-old Hewitt winning the fifth and decisive singles rubber.

World number three Murray set up a potentially epic Davis Cup semi-final against them when he spearheaded Great Britain’s 3-1 quarter-final win over France in London.

Hewitt, who will take over as the Australian team’s non-playing captain next year, said after Sunday’s triumph that he knows it will be a tricky challenge for his youthful side.

“We’re on the tougher side of the draw,” said Hewitt. “Argentina play Belgium in the other half, which is probably the weaker section.”

The never-say-die Hewitt, who is aiming to add to the Davis Cup titles he won in 1999 and 2003, said that over the past three or four years the event had been as big as any Grand Slam for him.

“When I make my schedule, everything has worked around the Davis Cup and trying to get the most out of myself,” he added. 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 21^st,  2015.

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