'Never doubt him': Aussies win 'craziest' tiebreak ever after 'genius' call
Lleyton Hewitt’s brave call to drop undefeated pair John Peers and Chris Guccione for Nick Kyrgios and Alex de Minaur in the deciding ATP Cup tie against Great Britain has paid off after Australia won 18-16 in a super tie break.
De Minaur was backing up barely half an hour after losing a three-hour, 22-minute singles thriller to Dan Evans.
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Evans' 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 7-6 (7-2) triumph levelled the tie at one rubber apiece after Kyrgios had put Australia one up with a 6-2 6-2 defeat of Cam Norrie in Thursday's opening match.
But team captain Lleyton Hewitt made the bold call to drop the undefeated doubles specialists for Australia’s two highest ranked single stars.
The move was initially panned on social media after many watched de Minaur sweat it out in tough conditions.
But after the thrilling final tie, which went the Aussies way 18-16 in a super tiebreak, Hewitt was praised by the commentators for his “brave” call.
That is probably the craziest and best tie breaker I’ve ever watched. @NickKyrgios @alexdeminaur you guys are absolute legends. #ATPCup
— nat. (@natalie_janette) January 9, 2020
Also, I’ll never doubt you again Lleyton. #ATPCup
— Alex Fair (@AJFair85) January 9, 2020
Lleyton is a genius if Alex and Nick win
But geez... I don't see the logic behind it... Peers a top-10 doubles player, and De Minaur surely absolutely cooked after 3.5 hours on court..#ATPCup— Justin Ahrns (@JustinAhrns) January 9, 2020
Kyrgios and De minaur to play the doubles decider against Great Britain. Great move from Lleyton #ATPCup
— Thomas Hobson (@ThomasWHobson) January 9, 2020
Saw Kyrgios coming but De Minaur. Wow, bold move by Lleyton! #ATPCup
— Jess Furlong (@jessie2321) January 9, 2020
OMG, that was insane. Lleyton Hewitt improves his H2H on Tim Henman to 10-1. #ATPCup
— Philip Gomes (@Think_Tennis) January 9, 2020
I'VE NEVER BEEN THIS INVESTED IN A DOUBLES MATCH EVER #ATPCUP2020 #ATPCup
— Stef/Lili (@lilithia) January 9, 2020
Nick Kyrgios, man. The kid needs to play in green and gold every damn day.
— Callum Godde (@calgodde) January 9, 2020
Kyrgios genius stuns fans
Kyrgios brought out the underarm serve early in Australia’s quarter-final clash with Great Britain at the ATP Cup.
The controversial Aussie had commentators full of praise when he caught Cameron Norrie by surprise with an underarm serve early in the first set on Thursday.
Norrie could only bunt a soft return back to Kyrgios, who had advanced to the net before putting away an easy volley winner.
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While some are still critical of the controversial tactic, Mark Petchey was loving it in commentary.
“He’s got that down to a particular art-form in terms of the disguise,” Petchey said on Channel Nine.
“It’s genuine genius the way that he does it.”
