Bad slam fires Cup

AUSTRALIA’S tennis stars will try to reach the Davis Cup final only a fortnight after completing the worst grand slam season in more than 20 years.

Tennis Australia’s head of performance, Wally Masur, admits having only two players in the second week at the majors for the first time since 1995 is barely satisfactory.

But Masur is convinced brighter times are around the corner.

Daria Gavrilova, who reached the last 16 at the Australian Open for the second straight year before landing her maiden WTA title in New Haven last month, is established in the world’s top 20.

Ashleigh Barty will also climb to a career-high No.36 after making the last 32 in New York, while Samantha Stosur loomed as a serious French Open contender until a stress fracture in her hand cost her in a painful fourth-round loss to eventual champion Jelena Ostapenko.

Australia’s leading men had a dreadful year at the slams, Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic each winning only two matches.

Masur, though, insists it is not all doom and gloom.

“At the start of the year we had Thanasi Kokkinakis out of the game for 18 months, John Millman was out after hip surgery, then James Duckworth, he had shoulder and hip surgery,” he said.

“So while we go into the slams with a focus on Nick and Bernie on the men’s side and Sam, Dasha and now Ash with the girls, sometimes it’s that support cast that gets the whole crew playing well.

“So as the year’s gone on, if I can take a positive, Thanasi is back playing slams, John Millman is back playing slams. What that’s done is the Fed Cup side is starting to look pretty good and the Davis Cup has great depth and is about to play a semi-final.”