The German Davis Cup team will face Australia in Brisbane for the first-round duel with world-ranking fourth-placed Alexander Zverev, but without his broken brother Mischa (2nd place). till 4. February). This was announced by the DTB on Tuesday. In addition to Zverev, team boss Michael Kohlmann nominated Peter Gojowczyk, Jan-Lennard Struff and Tim Pütz.
“I hope that Sascha will be able to cope quickly with his defeat in the third round of the Australian Open and show in Brisbane what a great performance he is capable of,” said Kohlmann about his number one, who surprisingly lost in Melbourne in five sets against South Korean Chung Hyeon in five sets:”Even if his start to the season was not perfect, I am confident that he will be able to win in Davis.
While some of the team are already in training camp on the Gold Coast, Struff is in the Melbourne semi-finals and will not leave until later,”Jan has become an important pillar of our team. He has already defeated Tomas Berdych this year and also played a strong match against Roger Federer in Melbourne,”Kohlmann praised the 27-year-old, who had won the class in Lisbon in September with two victories in the absence of the Zverev brothers.
Australia starts with Nick Kyrgios and the 18-year-old top talent Alex De Minaur. Team boss Lleyton Hewitt also nominated Jordan Thompson, John Millman and doubles specialist John Peers. Since this season, five instead of four players can be part of the Davis Cup team. Kohlmann decided against replacing Mischa Zverev, who suffered from an infection and shoulder injury.