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Lleyton Hewitt in epic Davis Cup move as Australia chase 20-year first in final

The Aussie team captain made the huge call for the semi-final of the Davis Cup.

riley morgan
Sports Reporter
·4-min read
Lleyton Hewitt's cal to promote Alexei Popyrin to the singles position worked as Australia advanced to the Davis Cup final after a 2-0 singles win. (Getty Images)
Lleyton Hewitt's cal to promote Alexei Popyrin to the singles position worked as Australia advanced to the Davis Cup final after a 2-0 singles win. (Getty Images)

Lleyton Hewitt's call to play Alexei Popyrin in the Davis Cup semi-final against Finland has paid off after Australia advanced to the final in back-to-back tournaments. Australia didn't need a doubles decider like they did against the Czech Republic earlier this week following their 2-0 victory over Finland with singles wins for Popyrin and Alex de Minaur.

Hewitt's call to play Jordan Thompson backfired against the Czech Republic on Thursday as de Minaur needed to rescue Australia's chances in the tie. However, there was no such repeat with Popyrin stepping in on Saturday and defeating Otto Virtanen.

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Popyrin was battling nerves in the first set tiebreak, but was able to win the match in straight sets having grown into the contest with Hewitt cheering him on. The youngster admitted it was the "biggest moment of my career" having been embraced by the Aussie captain after the match.

Australia head into the Davis Cup final, their 49th appearance in the final, seeking a first win in the World Cup of men's tennis in 20 years. "We're a very solid squad, a lot of depth in every single position, and if we can get ourselves to a deciding doubles, we've got an unbelievable pairing as well," de Minaur said.

"So we singles guys have just got do our best to try and get a win and let the doubles guys do the job. Hopefully we can go one better this year," he added, recalling the 2-0 defeat by Canada in 2022. Aussie tennis fans were thrilled at the back-to-back finals feat and praised Popyrin and de Minaur for a brilliant performance in the semi-final.

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De Minaur was full of praise for his teammate Popyrin after Hewitt made the huge call to elevate him to the starting singles role in the semi-final. "Alexei hasn't played for Australia in a very long time (two years), had a massive match today against a very high quality opponent and dug super deep," the World No.12 said.

Lleyton Hewitt celebrates.
Lleyton Hewitt (pictured) has helped guide Australia to back-to-back Davis Cup finals. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images for ITF)

Popyrin managed to deliver a rock solid game, making only 11 unforced errors to his erratic opponent's 25, to prevail in just under an hour-and-a-half. "It was probably the biggest win of my career," he admitted. "To win a match that means so much to us, it's an honour and something I'll never forget.

"Nothing compares to this. I thought I was ready but when I came out and heard the two sets of fans chanting so hard, but it was nerves that I've never experienced before."

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