Australia Might Go With A Youth Movement In Davis Cup Play

Written by: Staff on 18th September 2012

Australia Might Go With A Youth Movement In Davis Cup Play

epa03397478 Australian tennis player Bernard Tomic returns the ball during the Davis Cup match against Germany's Cedrik-Marcel Stebe at the tennis stadium Hamburg Rothenbaum in Hamburg, Germany, 14 September 2012. The Davis Cup matches between Germany and Australia take place between 14-16 September 2012. EPA/DANIEL REINHARDT |

After suffering a 3-2 loss to Germany in Davis Cup when veteran Lleyton Hewitt fell to youngster Cedric-Marcel Steeb in the final rubber in straight sets, it appears that Australia might go with a youth movement next year.

Todd Woodbridge, head of men’s development at Tennis Australia, said that fast-tracking the next generation of Australian males such as James Duckworth and Jason Keebler might be the way to go “We need to start moving those kids up,” he told the Australian.

“Because they’ll take a year or two to settle in.”

Woodbridge’s former doubles partner Mark Woodforde attended the Hamburg tie and brought along juniors Thanasi Kokkinakis, Blake Mott and Harry Bourchier.

Australian Captain Patrick Rafter will also have a large say into who will play in the future.

The team is certainly to include 19-year-old Bernard Tomic, who split his singles match in Germany.

“They were there training in the same environment and around the (senior) team,” Woodbridge said of the juniors. “That was a really important thing because they are the ones that need to be there in two to three years. So we’ve got to get them all ready to play and Pat (Rafter) knows that.”

©Daily Tennis News Wire

Topics: Australian tennis news, Bernard Tomic, Davis Cup 2012, Germany Davis Cup 2012, Lleyton Hewitt, Sports, Tennis Australia, Tennis News, Todd Woodbridge