Lleyton Hewitt, who won the fifth match to secure a quarterfinal tie against Kazakhstan’s Aleksandr Nedovyesov at the Davis Cup, said that it was one of his biggest wins ever. The victory capped a comeback from 2-0 down for Australia, with Hewitt securing points in doubles and singles.
The former No. 1 Hewitt won two Grand Slams and 30 titles, but has always been a big Davis Cup player. The Australian has been playing the team event since 1999, with 58 wins and 19 defeats as well as winning the 1999 and 2003 titles. Hewitt will retire after the 2016 Australian Open.
"I've always said some of my greatest wins are in Davis Cup, and probably all my toughest losses are in Davis Cup, so I'm going to enjoy this one,” the 34-year-old said. “We've worked so hard to get ourselves in a position to be in the world group again, and you don't get opportunities like this all the time: a quarter-final, playing at home, obviously this is what dreams are made of, and we've given ourselves a chance to be in the semifinals later in the year."
After Australia went down 2-0 when the young Aussies Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios lost, the home team was in a tough position. But Hewitt and Sam Groth won the doubles and captain Wally Masur decided overnight to substitute Groth and Hewitt in singles as well.
Masur talked to his coach Josh Eagle and his adviser Tony Roche. According to <em>The Age</em>, Masur said they were “not all in agreement on who should play what on this fifth day. I just want to say it was not the tie for the young boys this time. Their tie is coming, so just give them a bit of love, give 'em a hug. This is a good team, and it's only going to get better, so look out.”
Australia will be away in the semis against Great Britain. The last time they played, Australia beat Great Britain 4-1 in 1983 at home on grass at Adelaide behind Pat Cash. Before then, Great Britain beat Australia in 1978 on carpet in London, behind John Lloyd.