Australia captain Lleyton Hewitt has been pressed into making several changes ahead of a crucial Davis Cup qualifier against Sweden, introducing three new faces with uncertainty lingering around Thanasi Kokkinakis.
The team flew out on Sunday night as they prepare to play in the Scandinavian nation on January 31 and February 1.
In the first week of January, Hewitt confirmed the team list for their Davis Cup qualifier against Sweden, naming Alex de Minaur, Jordan Thompson, Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios.
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However, The First Serve can exclusively reveal that world No.66 Aleksandar Vukic will enter the fold with de Minaur in singles action, while Matthew Ebden and John Peers replace Kyrgios and Thompson.
The obvious out is Kyrgios, who bowed out of Melbourne Park in straight-sets against Jacob Fearnley in the first-round.
The former Wimbledon finalist made mention of picking up an abdominal injury pre-tournament, discovered to be a grade one strain.
"Realistically, I can't really see myself playing singles match here again," a deflated Kyrgios told reporters after his loss to Fearnley. "I was knocking on the door from playing some of the biggest events... winning some of the biggest events. When you're competing for the biggest tournaments in the world and you're struggling to win sets, physically, it's pretty tough. It's just not enjoyable for me."
The First Serve understands Thompson is battling with a foot injury and is pitted in a race against time to be fit for the North American hard court swing.
The 30-year-old has struggled with Plantar Fasciitis in the lead-in to the Brisbane International earlier this month, where he was forced to retire mid-match in his quarter-final against Grigor Dimitrov.
"It was fine until probably 4-3 but I was getting outplayed to be honest," Thompson said after exiting the Australian Open in the second-round at the hands of Nuno Borges.
"That's the most disappointing part - I don't know if I was coming back, but I had a chance there. Hurt it again at 4-3 and had a couple of break points, but I barely won a point after I hurt the foot.
"It's disappointing because I did have a chance there, but didn't let me finish properly."
But in what has come as surprising news, Kokkinakis has travelled with the squad despite admitting after his Australian Open singles defeat that he has "serious decisions to make".
"I'm angry... pissed. Even if I won, I wouldn't have been able to play the next match. I'm annoyed," Kokkinakis revealed.
"[My] shoulder was gone before the match. I just tried to tough it out. I was touch-and-go again to play this week. Took a million painkillers to try and get through."
He then went on to say, "There's a tear, for sure. I'm playing with a crazy amount of scar tissue in there. It's something that every time I show a physio or a doctor, they're taken back by it."
Doubles specialist Ebden, who admitted he was still hopeful of receiving a call-up for Australia's upcoming qualifier, revealed what Hewitt told him earlier this month.
"Lleyton called me a week or two ago and said he’s not going to name me for this team," the Olympic gold medalist confirmed.
"He said Nick really wants a chance, and he’s going to give him a chance to come along and see if he can train and get him back into the fold, but he said, 'I might call you in a week and a half with injuries and whatever.'"
World No.25 Alexei Popyrin was excluded from the original roster earlier this month, but the Montreal Masters 1000 champion suffered a glute injury during his shock first-round loss against Frenchman Corentin Moutet at Melbourne Park.
Host of The First Serve, Brett Phillips, detailed Team Australia's changes on Monday night's radio show on the Sports Entertainment Network.
"There's been no official statement from Tennis Australia, but we (The First Serve) can tell you Alex de Minaur is an absolute lock, Aleksandar Vukic, who had the best run making it through to the Aussie Open third-round [has] been given the nod, [and] my understanding is that Thanasi Kokkinakis is still part of the trip," said Phillips.
"Matthew Ebden and John Peers are also in that group of players.
"This is my understanding, bank it in that Aleksandar Vukic will make his debut for Australia playing Davis Cup.
"So Nick Kyrgios out, Jordan Thompson with the injury that he got won't take part under Lleyton Hewitt."
Sweden originally named Elias Ymer (No.326), Leo Borg (son of Bjorn, No.541), André Göransson (No.46 in doubles) and Filip Bergevi (No.125 in doubles).
However, Ymer has withdrawn from the Davis Cup squad due to sharing “different views” from Swedish captain Simon Aspelin, as he told his followers via Instagram.
The tie commences on Saturday at 3am, broadcast live on 9Gem.
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