MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Nick Kyrgios has been replaced in Australia’s Davis Cup squad by Aleksandar Vukic after the former Wimbledon finalist suffered an abdominal strain in the lead-up to the Australian Open.
After a five-year absence from the Davis Cup, Kyrgios had been a surprise inclusion in the squad named by captain Lleyton Hewitt in December for the first-round tie against Sweden starting later on Friday.
“I was excited to think of the potential for him to be back in the Davis Cup team, but it wasn’t to be and obviously he’s very underdone with his body,” Hewitt told Australian media.
Injury-hampered Kyrgios was knocked out of the first round of the Australian Open by unseeded Briton Jacob Fearnley, having played only one tour-level match in the lead-up to the Grand Slam after coming back from wrist surgery.
“So it’s not surprising he’s got an injury trying to play five-set tennis straight away without many matches,” added Hewitt.
The Australian Open was Kyrgios’s first Grand Slam action since the 2022 U.S. Open, with knee, foot and wrist problems wiping out his 2023 and 2024 seasons.
World number 66 Vukic will join teammate Alex De Minaur in the singles ties for Australia, who reached the 2024 semi-finals and being runner-up in 2022 and 2023.
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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