Australia rocked by Davis Cup blow

Alex de Minaur is facing a race to be fit for Australia’s Davis Cup quest after captain Lleyton Hewitt left him out of the squad for November’s knockout showdown with the USA.

While changes are permitted between now and the clash in Spain, de Minaur looks more and more unlikely to take his place, having missed Australia’s quarter-finals campaign in Valencia.

Without de Minaur, Alexei Popyrin is the top-ranked player in the five-man squad looking to get back to the Davis Cup final for the third year in a row, having finished runners-up the past two years.

Jordan Thompson, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Max Purcell and Matthew Ebden round out Australia’s quintet, the same five who won two of three matches in Valencia to progress to the final eight.

The five players in the USA squad are top-20 singles players Taylor Fritz (7), Tommy Paul (13) and Ben Shelton (17) plus two top-30 doubles players Rajeev Ram (10) and Austin Krajicek (28).

Australia and the USA are the two most successful teams in Davis Cup history, but the Aussies have not won since 2003.

Should they take down the Americans, Italy, led by world No.1 Jannik Sinner, loom as their next opponents.

Battling a lingering hip injury, de Minaur has only played one tournament since being forced to withdraw from the Wimbledon quarter-finals.

After progressing to the final eight, Hewitt said de Minaur would “do everything to get back as quickly as possible”.

But the world No.11 may prioritise getting in the best possible shape for the Australian Open in Melbourne in January.

AUSTRALIAN SQUAD (for Davis Cup final 8, Malaga, Spain, November 19-24): Alexei Popyrin, Jordan Thompson, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Max Purcell, Matthew Ebden. Captain: Lleyton Hewitt.

Quarter-finals: Australia v United States, Italy v Argentina, Spain v Netherlands, Canada v Germany.