Australia have named a full-strength team for next month’s Davis Cup World Group first round tie against the Czech Republic.
Young stars Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic are the likely singles players with Lleyton Hewitt and Sam Groth rounding out the team under new captain Wally Masur.
Australia will take on the No.1 ranked Czech team, who will be without stars Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek, in Ostrava from March 6-8.
“All the Davis Cup ties are wide open and I think with the team we have (it gives us) a lot of options, which is a massive strength for us,” Hewitt said on Tuesday.
“It’s something we’ve really struggled with over the past five years or so.
“Nick and Bernie have both been playing great and they’re both confident.
“They’re both big match players and play really well over five sets, which is important.
“Grothy has really stood up over the last six to eight months in both singles and doubles and he’s a big option of playing (either).”
Emerging youngsters Thanasi Kokkinakis and Alex Bolt will also travel with the squad that will prepare for the tie with a training camp in Prague.
The Czech Republic will host Australia for the first time in Davis Cup history with the tie on an indoor hardcourt at Cez Arena in Ostrava.
Berdych, currently ranked eighth in the world, has decided to bypass this year’s Davis Cup after being the mainstay of the Czech teams that won the tournament in 2012 and 2013, while Stepanek is recovering from back surgery.
Some doubt had surrounded the availability of Kyrgios after he struggled with a back injury at the Australian Open, but Hewitt said the world No.37 was in good spirits when he spoke to him last week.
“I think he was a little bit surprised that it was feeling a lot better sooner than he’d anticipated,” he said.
“In the next few days he’ll have to start stepping it up and see how it responds.
“He pulled out of two tournaments where the back wasn’t right to go out there and try to compete and that probably would have jeopardised whether he could play in the Davis Cup.
“It’s massive to have him in the team – it really boosts our depth.”
