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DAVIS CUP FINALSNovember 20, 2019Alex De MinaurLleyton HewittNick KyrgiosJohn MillmanJohn PeersJordan ThompsonParis, France AUSTRALIA 2, Belgium 1 KYRGIOS/Darcis 6-2, 7-6 de MINAUR/Goffin 6-0, 7-6 GILLE-VLIEGEN/Peers-Thompson 0-0 [Ret.] THE MODERATOR: First question. Q. First question to Nick. How did you feel about how you played? Obviously your serving was amazing the first two matches. How are you feeling to be in the quarterfinals? NICK KYRGIOS: It's awesome. First of all, to get our revenge against Belgium. We had a heartbreaking loss against the in semifinals. We all wanted to go out there today and bring the energy. And the way Alex was playing in that first hour-and-a-half was -- his match wasn't that quick -- 45 minutes, it was amazing. He's playing unbelievable and that was just -- I'm playing well, I'm serving well. That's usually one part of my game that is always pretty consistent. But I'm just happy we get through. I don't really care about my serving stats or anything. I just wanted to get the win and take a little bit of the pressure off before Alex goes out there. Hopefully we can rest up now and come back out tomorrow and do it again. Q. Nick, I want to know, what do you think about this Davis Cup, this new tournament? And also if you think that there are any things to improve, for example, the time, the hours? NICK KYRGIOS: Next question. Q. Lleyton, can you tell us the decision about the doubles. I think you played one game and then you pulled out. LLEYTON HEWITT: Peersy just was feeling his elbow a little bit. For me, it was an easy decision for me because I'm not risking him before we have a quarterfinal match tomorrow. He'll be getting treatment tonight and icing it. Hopefully it pulls up well for tomorrow night. Q. Can you talk us about your match, Alex. It was going so comfortably and then it tightened up. Goffin certainly took it to you in those later stages. ALEX de MINAUR: Obviously, I would have loved to have finished it off at 5-3 on my first match point. It's part of Davis Cup. You're not playing for yourself; you're playing for your teammates, you're playing for our country. It's a little bit more pressure. I probably didn't execute the way I was throughout the whole match in those important moments. But I'm very happy I was able to come back and sort of get the ball rolling again and finish off with a good tiebreak. Obviously, you know, having Nick come out and just be as solid as they come and get that first win gave me a big sort of boost of energy. And, you know, that definitely took a lot of pressure off so I could go out there and swing freely. Q. Lleyton, how do you prepare your team for the next round, knowing they have a short time to rest, knowing that you played yesterday and you played today? LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, there's not a lot we can do, really (smiling). We just got to do the same as last night. The boys just have to do all the right things - food, treatment, get enough sleep as well. At least they're on a night schedule, they should be used to it. But we get the opportunity to go out and play now in the knockout stages. We're going to do absolutely everything we can tomorrow night. Q. Lleyton, your thoughts on the Canadian team. Obviously, they are very strong. But a question mark as to who's going to play for them. LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah. Pospisil obviously stood up and played extremely well in his first two matches here. So you're probably assuming that they're going to put him in. He's done everything right so far. And then Denis has played quality matches in both his singles as well. And both of those played really good doubles. So whether Felix fits in to that or not, that team tomorrow night, I'm not sure. All I can control is obviously our boys and getting them prepared as well as possible and working out game plans for them to hopefully go out and execute and give ourselves the best chance. But we're certainly not taking anything for granted. It's going to be a really tough three matches. Q. How do you think the incredible tradition of Davis Cup in your country helps you? JOHN MILLMAN: Yeah, look - there we go - I think it's ingrained in our DNA, to be honest with you. I think we really like to soak up what our past great champions have done. And, you know, we've got Tony Roche that's ever present at every tie. We absolutely love having him here, and we try to tap into his knowledge. But at the same time, I think, you know, some of these boys are also keen to, you know, write another chapter in that history. Because we're very proud of what's happened in the past. But, you know, I think these boys are extremely talented and I know they're extremely motivated to, you know, add to that. I think that's a really driving inspiration, you know, that gets us really up for every single match. And no doubt tomorrow we'll look to use that again. Q. A question for Nick. Nick, would you like to play on Sunday the final against Spain, against Rafael Nadal, or do you prefer any other rival? NICK KYRGIOS: You realize I can't play him; right? Q. Yeah, maybe in doubles. NICK KYRGIOS: Yeah, I guess. We have to play Canada tomorrow. So it's a good question. Q. There's been a lot of talk, some players have suggested there's two events in the calendar that are pretty similar, the Davis Cup in the new format, like it is played in one week, and the ATP Cup, which is coming up, which is played over ten days. Both have three matches and about six groups. So your thoughts on comparing the two events. Do you feel that as some of the players have suggested, in terms of long-term, would it be a good idea to merge the two events? LLEYTON HEWITT: Right now, mate, I'm not going to answer it. We're after midnight and I've got to get ready for a quarterfinal tomorrow. We're here to try and win the Davis Cup, that's what we're here for. At the end of the week, I can answer other questions. Q. You may have just answered this one indirectly. I was going to ask you, given how busy it is and how tight the schedule is, do you guys have time to see any of the other ties, you know, scope out the competition, anything like that? LLEYTON HEWITT: Not a whole heap, no. Obviously, we had the first day off so me and the rest of the coaching staff and a couple of the players were able to go and watch our first two opponents, Belgium and Colombia, play. Apart from that, we haven't seen a whole heap. The odd point here and there in the locker room. But trying to organize all these guys' practices and warmups and everything else that goes with it, no, there hasn't been a lot of downtime. Q. Peersy, are you concerned about the elbow? JOHN PEERS: A little bit. But I'll rest up, try and get as much work into it as I can tonight and see if we can get up for tomorrow. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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