Aussies stumble out of Davis Cup semi-finals

MELBOURNE: Shattered Australia captain Lleyton Hewitt has said his young Davis Cup team will be better for their heartbreaking 3-2 semi-final loss to Belgium and backed them to bounce back quickly from the disappointment.

Chasing their first appearance in the final since winning the 2003 title, Australia led 2-1 heading into the final singles in Brussels on Sunday but Nick Kyrgios and Jordan Thompson met their match against David Goffin and Steve Darcis.

Hewitt said he could not fault the effort of his players in front of a parochial home crowd on clay courts, their least-preferred surface, but as a member of the team that beat Spain in the 2003 titledecider, he was still crushed by the defeat.

“You come here to get the result. It’s a bit raw at the moment,” the two-time grand slam champion told reporters.

With Bernard Tomic overlooked for the tie amid a deep form slump, Hewitt sprung a couple of selection surprises over the weekend, neither of which paid off.

After including the in-form Thanasi Kokkinakis in his squad, Hewitt ignored the young talent and plumped for 183rd-ranked John Millman, who lost the opening singles to Goffin on Friday.

Millman played well in defeat to Goffin but was discarded in favour of 69th-ranked Jordan Thompson who duly lost to Darcis on Sunday.

Nine-time champions France made the final by seeing off Serbia 3-1 in Lille and will host the Belgians in November.

France won their most recent Davis Cup in 2001 before losing the 2002, 2010 and 2014 finals. Belgium made the final in 2015, losing to Britain. Agencies