Sydney: Australia captain Lleyton Hewitt left out Bernard Tomic on Tuesday as he named an unchanged team for the Davis Cup World Group quarter-final clash with the United States.
Temperamental world No. 16 Nick Kyrgios spearheads the same side that swept past the Czech Republic in the last round, with Sam Groth, Jordan Thompson and doubles specialist John Peers on board for the April 7-9 clash in Brisbane.
“Nick’s obviously our No. 1 player, and we’ll be relying on him heavily to get us through the tie,” said Hewitt, Australia’s most successful Davis Cup player with a total of 58 victories.
“He’s beaten a lot of quality players since our first round tie against the Czech Republic, and I feel the court in Brisbane is really going to suit him.”
Tomic, once a stalwart of the team, skipped the Czech tie citing scheduling issues and he is again absent for the USA clash.
The 24-year-old pulled out of the Miami Open with a back injury this week. He has been in a poor run of form, with no wins on the ATP Tour since the Australian Open in January.
But media reports suggested his absence from the Davis Cup team was due to an ongoing feud between his coach and father, John, and Tennis Australia over lack of funding and wildcard support for Tomic’s younger sister Sara.
United States captain Jim Courier is yet to name his side, although Tennis Australia said it was expected to also be unchanged, meaning Jack Sock, John Isner, Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey will make the trip to Brisbane.
