Lleyton Hewitt's shock call on Alex de Minaur amid crushing blow at hands of fiancee Katie Boulter
The Aussies were knockout out of the United Cup by Boulter and Great Britain.
Lleyton Hewitt has declared Alex de Minaur can "absolutely" win the Australian Open after the Aussie was eliminated from the United Cup at the hands of fiancee Katie Boulter on Wednesday night. De Minaur won his singles rubber before also triumphing with Olivia Gadecki in the mixed doubles against Great Britain, but Boulter's early victory in the women's singles was enough to knock Australia out.
Boulter starred for Team GB in Sydney, crushing Gadecki 6-2 6-1 at Ken Rosewall Arena. Australia had entered Wednesday night's tie needing to win 3-0 to top Group F and secure a path to the quarter-finals. Instead it was Team GB who advanced following Boulter's one-sided victory.
The Aussies still had the chance to advance if they conceded no more than seven games in the men's singles and mixed doubles. De Minaur lived up to his end of the bargain with a 6-2 6-1 thrashing of Billy Harris, but the 6-3 7-6(3) scoreline in the doubles wasn't enough for Australia.
Despite de Minaur's elimination, the World No.9 has declared he's back to full fitness and fully recovered from a hip injury ahead of the Australian Open. "This was the old me. I've got my legs back, everybody. I'm back," he said.
"I struggled with an injury that sidelined me and took away one of my biggest assets, which was my movement, and it took me a very long time to get back. It had been a long time since I felt my feet moving as quickly as they did today, and doing all of that without pain was a really good feeling. Gave me some goosebumps because it felt good to finally be back at that level."
Lleyton Hewitt backs Alex de Minaur to win Australian Open
And Australian team captain Hewitt has made the shock call that de Minaur can go all the way to the title at Melbourne Park. "Absolutely," he told AAP. "I'm just so happy for Alex to be back playing like he wants to play again.
"Only probably his close-knit team know exactly what he's been dealing with and how frustrating that's been, and he still kept showing up and giving 100 per cent and not making excuses. So, for me, the last week or so that he's been here in training and doing the hard work, it's been great to see him being able to enjoy that pain-free and moving the way that he wants to.
"The court and everything else starts coming together. And, like he always says, it's about embracing this month of the year and enjoying the moments."
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No Australian men's player has made the final of the Melbourne Park grand slam since Hewitt in 2005, when the former World No.1 famously beat James Blake, Juan Ignacio Chela, Rafael Nadal, David Nalbandian and Andy Roddick on his road to the title decider. He ultimately lost to Marit Safin from one set all and 4-1 up in the third, but is urging de Minaur to go one step better.
"When you do end up being a washed up old man, these are the moments you miss playing in front of your home crowd like this," Hewitt said. "So Alex has got as good a shot as anyone of obviously going deep at the Australian Open. But first things first, you've got to get there and you take care of business and hopefully find a way to navigate your way into the second week of the slam, and then anything can happen."
