Ahead of Australia's crucial Davis Cup quarter-final tie, team captain Lleyton Hewitt admits it's "frustrating" to always travel to Europe for the Finals, while Alex de Minaur has declared himself "fit and ready."
Australia are preparing to face the USA tonight at 8pm AEDT to be broadcast live on 9Gem and 9Now - accompanied by commentary featuring The First Serve host Brett Phillips and former world No.4 Jelena Dokic.
For the third consecutive year, Málaga have been selected as the outright hosts for the Finals format.
21 years after Australia last hosted the event, which was also their most recent title, Hewitt believes there should be more location diversity.
"I think there has been some mistakes made in the last few years,” the two-time Davis Cup winner said.
"We’d really like to hopefully host the Finals as well. We’d like to get the opportunity to put a bid in for next year to host the Finals in Australia. I think we deserve that. I have been working extremely hard with the Federation to be able to give us that opportunity.
"It’s frustrating for these guys to always have to come all the way over to Europe every single year to play in the Finals. I know how special it was for me to win Davis Cup Finals in Australia. I think we all know how good a tradition our country has in this competition for well over a hundred years. We’ll see where that lands."
World No.9 Alex de Minaur’s last-minute call-up to Australia’s five-man squad will undoubtedly offer the team a confidence boost.
The 25-year-old has battled a hip injury since Wimbledon, and as a result, was left out of Hewitt’s squad for the Davis Cup group stage phase in September.
However, he has been given the all-clear to participate in Málaga and help the green and gold seek redemption for back-to-back final defeats.
"I’m very happy to be back here," de Minaur said.
"It’s been a tough year with injuries, but I am feeling a lot better, and I’m feeling quite fit and ready to compete.
"So obviously if my body was holding up, I was always going to put my hand up and be ready to come here and play for Australia."
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