Copyright © 2015. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.

Lleyton Hewitt will return to his “roots” in more ways than one as he makes his debut as Australian Davis Cup captain on grass in the March 4-6 first round against the US. The two-time grand slam winner and career-long Davis stalwart, will retire next month after the Australian Open and has already taken up his new post as Davis Cup team boss.

The Americans can likely expect to find themselves on grass at Melbourne’s Kooyong club for the tie, marking only the second time in a decade that the former home of the Australian Open has hosted a Davis competition. The Aussies and the Yanks last played in 1999 — on grass – in Boston, the tie where the teenaged Hewitt made his Davis Cup  debut and current US coach Jim Courier also competed.

Hewitt will be taking a close look at his troops during the upcoming Australian tennis summer, which begins in three weeks with the Hopman Cup in Perth.  On the short list for Davis Cup selection – assuming continued good behavior – are bad boy Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic, along with the better-behaved Thanasi Kokkinakis and aggressive big-hitting tough guy Sam Groth.

The visiting Americans of Courier’s  have a somewhat weaker selection, with their top man John Isner ranked a distant 11th and a player who has done nothing special on grass besides play a three-day marathon in 2010 at Wimbledon. The big man has never passed the Wimbledon third round.

Youngster Jack Sock, ranked 26th, could also be a team choice for Courier, whose reserve list is relatively bare. The US leads the head-to-head with Australia 25-20.

Copyright © 2015. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.