Hewitt Erupts: De Minaur’s Serve is a National Embarrassment – He’s Not Fit to Wear the Green and Gold Due To…
Alex de Minaur suffered a disappointing start to his United Cup adventure with a defeat against Casper Ruud.
Ruud beat De Minaur 6-3, 6-3 in one hour and 34 minutes to gain a point for Norway, who had been 1-0 down in the tie against Australia.
Storm Hunter replaced the ill Maya Joint and beat Malene Helgo in the opener, before a doubles win with John-Patrick Smith.
Hunter’s impressive United Cup displays helped Australia beat Norway 2-1, with Czechia now up next for the home side in Sydney.
Which country do you think will win the United Cup?
stealthboxerPoland
boss_chaseGreat Britain.
marsh44United States
Lleyton Hewitt suggests Alex de Minaur did too much with his second serve
De Minaur will be eager to bounce back in that match, particularly after hitting eight double faults against Ruud.
Team captain Lleyton Hewitt discussed those struggles after the match, saying: “In terms of Alex, yeah, I felt Casper played a great match.
“One of the best serving matches I’ve seen him have in terms of percentages, hitting his spots especially on his first serve.
“Yeah, Alex, whether he was trying to do a little bit too much with the second serve early on. He gave away that first service break early in the match.
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“He did really well to hang in there in the opening set and nearly found a way to turn it around. But yeah, as I said, I thought Casper played a great match in those conditions. He’s very tough to beat.”
What does Alex de Minaur need to change to challenge Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner?
george.pattenI honestly don’t think he can. He might have it in him to sneak a Slam if he can avoid both of them, though.
peter.lynchA superb player, but not much he can change at this stage given the ability of Sinner and Alcaraz, and he isn’t the only one in that position
kilham.maxA bigger serve world help! Not sure that’ll happen though.
Lleyton Hewitt issues fitness update on Maya Joint
De Minaur admitted he was getting used to the conditions when discussing his double fault issues, with playing at night also causing him some difficulty.
It was certainly uncharacteristic from the Australian, who had his blushes spared by his teammates on home soil.
De Minaur praised Joint in the build-up to the United Cup, with Hewitt having issued an update on the WTA ace’s condition in Australia.
The captain said: “Yeah, Maya, we’ll just wait and see. I really don’t know. I haven’t seen her obviously for a couple of days now.
“Yeah, fingers crossed, but also, she hopefully gets a chance to feel better and actually do some training if she’s going to come out and play as well.
“Otherwise, that would be a big ask. And it is a long summer, as well. You know, she wants to be playing well for the whole month of January.”
It’s certainly a busy month ahead for many players involved in the United Cup, culminating with the Australian Open in Melbourne.