Chronicle of a withdraw foretold: Nick Kyrgios was unable to overcome the illness and will not play the rubber against the USA.
It’s 10 AM in Melbourne and here comes the car with the Australian team at Kooyong for the draw ceremony, but … Hey someone is missing: there is no sign of Nick Kyrgios.

Alas, after and early morning fitness check, doctors advised against Kyrgios playing the tie against the USA. That means that now the odds are all in favour of team USA, and that also means that Lleyton Hewitt is out of retirement, being in the team as player n.3; if he actually takes to the court, he will become Australia’s first playing captain.
A very relaxed Courier was not surprised to see Lleyton in the players’ list “given the intensity he was training these days”.
Sam Groth will replace the Australian rising star and will open the tie playing the first rubber against Isner tomorrow, followed by Tomic versing Sock.
With Tomic not 100%, and Kyrgios out it could be a debacle, on a court which has hosted 10 Davis Cup ties since 1946, and where Australia has always won apart from one occasion (1946 against USA). It is also true that the most epic tie was in 1953 against the USA, when teenagers Hoad and Rosewall defeated the USA Trabert and Seixas with a final score of 3-2 after trainling 1-2 after the doubles. Will history repeat, maybe with a big “C’mon” from Lleyton?
From Melbourne, Robbie Cappuccio