{"id":298508,"date":"2023-11-27T11:24:46","date_gmt":"2023-11-27T11:24:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/?p=298508"},"modified":"2023-11-27T11:24:46","modified_gmt":"2023-11-27T11:24:46","slug":"hewitt-blasts-davis-cup-in-scathing-verdict-as-australia-left-bitter-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/tennis\/hewitt-blasts-davis-cup-in-scathing-verdict-as-australia-left-bitter-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Hewitt blasts Davis Cup in scathing verdict as Australia left bitter again"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Australia\u2019s Davis Cup captain slammed the new format of the tournament after his team suffered defeat in the final for the second year in a row. Lleyton Hewitt has often been vocal about disliking the new Davis Cup, calling for the old home-and-away ties and best-of-five-set matches. And he gave another scathing review of the current set-up after Italy blew Australia away 2-0 in Sunday\u2019s final.<\/p>\n

Team Australia were left feeling bitter once again as they fell at the final hurdle of the Davis Cup. 12 months after losing to Canada in last year\u2019s final, Hewitt\u2019s men earned a shot at redemption as they reached the same stage again in 2023. But it was heartbreak for the squad again as Matteo Arnaldi downed Alexei Popyrin 7-5 3-6 6-4.<\/p>\n

Jannik Sinner then delivered the crushing blow, proving dominant as he beat Alex de Minaur 6-3 6-0 to secure Italy\u2019s first Davis Cup title since 1976. The Australians weren\u2019t happy after suffering another blow in the final, with Hewitt and De Minaur both immediately taking off their runner-up medals.<\/p>\n

And Hewitt took the opportunity to blast the new Davis Cup format once again after a successful week in Malaga. While the former world No 1 thought the host city did a good job, he still wanted to see the old version of the tournament return. \u201cIt’s been a great week in terms of our performance, and we gave ourselves an opportunity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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\u201cYeah, Malaga has put on a great event in terms of what they can do with the format that they’ve got, you know.\u201d It still wasn\u2019t enough for Hewitt though, who said he was \u201csick\u201d of the lack of surface changes with the Finals week has being staged on indoor hard courts since the tournament was revamped in 2019.<\/p>\n

He continued: \u201cTheir hands are tied. There’s no home-and-away and there’s no five sets, so it’s not ideal. We are playing on a surface that, yeah, I’m really sick of playing on, to be honest. That’s not what Davis Cup is about. It’s playing on clay, grass, outdoor elements. You know, there’s a lot of different things.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, it’s obviously pretty frustrating, I think, that we don’t get all the different surfaces and conditions throughout Davis Cup anymore, and especially in the big matches, as well.\u201d His comments come four years after Davis Cup was given a makeover.<\/p>\n