Hewitt rallies Australia to win over Kazakhstan in Davis Cup quarters

Lleyton Hewitt led Australia to a 32 victory over Kazakhstan in Davis Cup action on Sunday, winning the deciding rubber over Aleksandr Nedovyesov 76 (72), 62, 63.

“I love the backs to the wall situation and we had to rally together to get the win,” the 34yearold Hewitt said. “You don’t get opportunities like this very often. This is what dreams are made of.”

Kazakhstan was up 20 early in the tie, forcing Australia to make adjustments and mount a furious comeback.

“The last three or four years, Davis Cup has been as big as any grand slam for me personally. When I make my schedule, everything has worked around the Davis Cup and trying to get the most out of myself,” Hewitt, a former world No. 1 now ranked 279th in the world, said.

Hewitt and Sam Groth kept Australia’s Davis Cup hopes alive on Saturday with a straightset victory over Kazakhstan’s Andrey Golubev and Nedovyesov in the doubles.

Playing on grass at the Marrara Sporting Complex in the northern Australian city of Darwin, Hewitt and Groth constantly threatened the Kazakh duo’s service games, creating 15 breakpoint chances and converting five of them in the 64, 76 (74), 62 victory.

Groth kept the momentum going on Sunday, beating Mikhail Kukushkin 63, 76 (86), 46, 76 (86), evening the tie at 22 and giving Hewitt the opportunity to nail down the victory for Australia.

Australia advanced to the World Group semifinals, where it will play the winner of the quarterfinal between Britain and France in September.

Australia, a traditional tennis powerhouse, has captured 28 Davis Cup titles, second only to the United States’ 32 championships.

Kazakhstan, which competed in the Davis Cup’s World Group for the first time in 2011, was looking to advance to its firstever semifinal berth.

The Central Asian nation has reached the Davis Cup quarterfinals on three occasions, most recently last year, when it led eventual champion Switzerland 21 before Kukushkin and Golubev lost the final two singles matches to Stanislas Wawrinka and Roger Federer, respectively.