Australia, 14 August 2023 | tennis.com.au

Alex de Minaur will spearhead the Australian team at the 2023 Davis Cup Finals in Great Britain next month.

The world No.12 has been selected alongside Jordan Thompson, Max Purcell, Thanasi Kokkinakis and world No.9 doubles player Matt Ebden for the group stage.

Australia is drawn in Group B alongside host nation Great Britain, France and Switzerland and will compete at the AO Arena in Manchester from 12-17 September 2023.

Australian Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt said selecting the team for Manchester was tough.

“There’s been a lot of really good performances not only in singles but also doubles throughout the year,” Hewitt said.

“It makes decision making for the Davis Cup team and the squad really tough, but that’s a position that myself, (Tony) Roche and Crabby (Jaymon Crabb) enjoy being in. We prefer to have it that way over having limited players to choose from.

“Alex de Minaur has played some of his best tennis in Davis Cup, so we’re very fortunate to have him spearheading us again going into Manchester. He’s come off a fantastic run in Toronto.

“Jordan Thompson played some really good tennis in Washington only a couple of weeks ago on the hard courts. But also I thought he played one of his best matches he has ever played when he played Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon earlier this year.

“Max Purcell, he’s another player who can play singles or doubles. He’s had some big wins in singles this year and got his ranking into a position where he can play all the big tournaments. We all know what a quality doubles player he is as well.

“Thanasi Kokkinakis, another fantastic ballstriker who is capable of playing a lot better tennis than where his ranking is at. He has the fire power to put a lot of players under pressure.

“And Matt Ebden has played a lot of big matches for us. He played fantastic in Hamburg last year in the doubles and he’s had an incredible year and is top 10 in doubles.”

🇦🇺 AUSTRALIA TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT 🇦🇺@alexdeminaur @jordanthommmo2 @MaxPurcell87 @TKokkinakis @mattebden #DavisCup | @TennisAustralia pic.twitter.com/smTZL8XTOL

— Davis Cup (@DavisCup) August 14, 2023

Australia, who recorded a runner-up finish in 2022, the nation’s best result in 19 years, will be playing for a spot in the Final 8.

“We’re in a really tough group in Manchester,” Hewitt said. “They’re all quality teams and we’re going to have to be on our game in every single match and every rubber against all three nations.

“Our main focus is to finish in the top two and we have to somehow give ourselves an opportunity to get to Malaga again in November. We’ll be doing absolutely everything in our power.”

> READ: Australia’s schedule revealed for group stage of 2023 Davis Cup Finals

De Minaur, who currently sits at a career-high ranking, said the team is looking to improve on last year’s performance.

“I think what motivates us is to try and get one better than we did last year,” De Minaur said.

“We got so close to being able to lift that Davis Cup trophy, that gave us a lot of fire in the belly to come back and go for more.

“In Manchester we have a very tough group, a lot of very good players. Very dangerous, players and nations, so it’s going to be very tough, we have to come together as a team and hopefully be able to put a strong performance in both the singles and doubles.”

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