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By Scoop Malinowski
It’s three years now that Lleyton Hewitt has been at the helm of the Australian Davis Cup team and two of those years produced first round crash outs, including this weekend’s surprising disastrous loss to Germany.
Hewitt’s aggressive, pushy captaining style has clearly worked with developing young Alex Deminaur into a major prospect who has made a big name for himself by reaching an ATP final this year and by extending Alex Zverev to a fifth set tiebreaker in the first singles match on Friday.
No doubt Hewitt’s relentless coaching and pushing Deminaur has worked. But you have to wonder if Hewitt’s relentless drive to win, win, win style has worked with other Aussie veteran players. Hewitt worked closely with Bernard Tomic at the 2016 US Open. Whatever happened between the two did not produce a favorable chemistry as Tomic has seen his career crash. Tomic and Hewitt do not speak to each other now.
Nick Kyrgios has also had suspect results with Hewitt as his Davis Cup captain. Kyrgios handled Struff impressively 64 64 64 on Friday but lost the do or die match yesterday to Zverev in three straight sets 26 67 36. Kyrgios had the set point late in the second set but failed to convert then was down 0-3 in the tiebreaker. Perhaps feeling the pressure and frustration of Hewitt breathing down his neck at the courtside chair, Kyrgios smashed his Yonex and got a point penalty (after a previous warning for hitting a ball out of the stadium) and then down 0-4 he never recovered.
The negativity and negative body language of shaking his head and moaning to himself doomed Kyrgios and of course he provided little resistance in the third set. Captain Hewitt tried to spark Kyrgios but failed. Kyrgios refused to look at Hewitt and when it was over he quickly picked up his bags and left the court by himself. As if trying to get away from Hewitt’s presence as fast as possible.
It’s got to be a blast to play for Hewitt when the times are good and the team is frontrunning and the acute pressures to win or comeback from adversity are not present. But when things get tight and close, one would imagine how annoying and irritating it must be to have Hewitt’s aggressive pressure to win, win, win glaring at you from the side of the court.
It’s also curious that Hewitt dresses up like he’s ready to play and by the look of the fire in his eyes and his intensity just watching the matches, it looks like he’s dying to still play. To get out there and show everybody how it’s done. If you saw Hewitt play doubles in Melbourne, it’s obvious he still wants to play and still believes he can still play. He’s more fit to still be an active ATP player than a Davis Cup captain chained to the sidelines.
Imagine being down a set and a break and you have Lleyton Hewitt badgering you to play better, to try harder, “come on mate.” Not many players are going to respond well to that kind of pestering pressure. Especially down a set and a break. Tennis is hard enough without a Hall of Fame legend critiquing your every move, every shot, every decision.
To his credit, Deminaur has responded perfectly to Hewitt’s high intensity captaining. But Kyrgios and the doubles duo of John Peers and Matthew Ebden did not, as they lost in five sets to the German pair of Jan Lennard Struff and Tim Puetz.
Germany’s captain Michael Kohlmann, casually watching in a German sweatsuit with an almost mellow demeanor, was a stark contrast to Hewitt’s burning eyes, burning obsession to win, win, win.
It makes you appreciate just how special and great a fighter Hewitt was in his career. He always fought and never quit a match in his life. Even down two sets to Roger Federer, he once came back and won in Davis Cup. He had an extraordinary self belief and an iron will that today’s Aussie veterans do not. Hewitt never showed negative body language, never shook his head, and never moaned to himself. He just kept fighting and competing.
But for whatever reasons he just can’t instill his fighting spirit into his players Tomic, Kyrgios, Thompson. And you have to wonder will their come a time when even Deminaur will reach a breaking point and decide he doesn’t need Hewitt breathing down his neck anymore?
With Australia’s Davis Cup team now in shambles after this disappointing and stunning failure against Germany, you have to wonder if Hewitt’s formula and methods to win the Cup are viable.
And you have to wonder if the great Lleyton Hewitt needs to make some changes to his methods like scaling back his intensity, changing his on court attire, putting his ego aside and centering the players as the focus, and not himself. Because the shadows of Hewitt’s legend still overshadow all the current Australian players, none of whom have come close to winning two majors or the ATP no. 1 ranking.
Once upon a time, just a year ago, Team Australia looked like a lock to win the Davis Cup or even establish another dynasty of winning multiple Cups with their outstanding lineup of Kyrgios, Kokkinakis, Deminaur, Tomic, Thompson and Peers.
But after this ugly elimination by Germany on their home courts, Australia and captain Hewitt are suddenly looking like a shattered team with a badly damaged morale and spirit.
Captain Hewitt has a tall order on his hands to rebuild the fallen Australian Davis Cup empire which just one week ago looked so hopeful, so optimistic and so full of enormous potential.
