Teenage sensation Alex De Minaur could be in line to make his Davis Cup debut against Germany this weekend.
De Minaur, 18, captured the imagination of Aussie fans by reaching an ATP semi-final in Brisbane, and a final in Sydney. The run saw him defeat the likes of Steve Johnson, Milos Raonic, Fernando Verdasco, Feliciano Lopez, and Benoit Paire.
The Aussie youngster had a tough draw in the Australian Open, but still managed to take a set from Tomas Berdych in the first round.
Nick Kyrgios is set to be Australia’s No.1 player as they look to take on a Germany side likely to be spearheaded by Alexander Zverev. Australia, are the seeded team, and also the hosts. The tie will take place on familiar territory for De Minaur, the site of his semi-final run in Brisbane on the Pat Rafter Arena court.
Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt was seen to be taking a look at De Minaur, who has boosted his ranking by nearly 70 places to No.139. Hewitt watched on as the youngster played a practice set with Kyrgios. John Millman and No.2 ranked Aussie Matthew Ebden are also in line for recalls to the squad, though it looks as if Jordan Thompson, who played doubles in the semi-finals last year, could be set to miss out.
There is speculation that Hewitt himself could come out of retirement to play doubles with specialist John Peers. Hewitt recently took part in the Australian Open doubles tournament. Playing with the retiring Sam Groth, the pair reached the quarter-finals.
Germany have the likes of Alexander Zverev, his brother Mischa, and Philipp Kohlschreiber available. Germany lost 4-1 in the opening round to Belgium in 2017. Australia were at home, and defeated Czech Republic, also 4-1.
