Australian Open 2025 LIVE updates: Demon cruises into third round, Kyrgios thunders in new social media spat

From having an embarrassment of riches, Lleyton Hewitt suddenly has a huge Davis Cup selection problem.

Hewitt’s go-to men are dropping like flies before Australia’s qualifying tie in Sweden on January 31 and February 1.

Of the skipper’s initial four-man team named earlier this month, world No.8 Alex de Minaur is fit, firing and, at this stage, 100 per cent available.

Jordan Thompson conceded after his second-round Australian Open exit that he badly needed a break from the sport to overcome a painful and nagging calf injury.

Then Thanasi Kokkinakis predicted he wouldn’t be able to lift his arm on Thursday after suffering through a chronic pectorial muscle injury during his five-set loss to Englishman Jack Draper.

The mercurial Nick Kyrgios had surprisingly been named to return to the Cup fold after a five-year absence, but he, too, is now in doubt with a wrist issue.

While not named to face the Swedes in Stockholm, Australian No.2 Alexei Popyrin was also injured during his second-round exit from Melbourne Park, bemoaning the unfortunate timing of a strained glute undermining his first grand slam campaign as a seed.

Hewitt is understandably concerned.

Australia are the second-ranked team in the world, behind only back-to-back Davis Cup champions Italy, after making successive finals in 2022 and 2023 and the semis last year.

With nine Australians ranked inside the world’s top 100, it has not quite reached the stage of Hewitt needing to make a playing comeback or the captain considering elevating his 16-year-old son from orange boy status to Davis Cup debutant.

But he is certainly sweating on de Minaur staying healthy over the next two weeks.

AAP