World No.66 Aleksandar Vukic will debut for the green and gold as Australia prepare to face Sweden in this weekend's Davis Cup qualifier, sharing he feels "privileged" to receive the opportunity.
Earlier this month, the provisional squad list was published for Australia's upcoming fixture, featuring Alex de Minaur, Jordan Thompson, Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis.
On Monday, The First Serve exclusively revealed that captain Lleyton Hewitt made multiple changes to his initial squad, leaving Kyrgios and Thompson at home due to separate injuries, leaving the door open for Vukic along with doubles specialists Matthew Ebden and John peers to enter the fold.
As reported by The First Serve, Thanasi Kokkinakis has travelled with the team, confirmed by Tennis Australia, despite struggling with a shoulder injury.
Vukic, who is coming off his best run at a Grand Slam by reaching the third-round at Melbourne Park, revealed he is honoured to represent his country for the first time.
"Very privileged and especially to be surrounded by legends of the Australian tennis scene. It’s a very, very big honour for me," said Vukic, set to become Australia's 116th Davis Cup representative.
"I’ll do my best to do my part to represent the country and represent everyone there the best I can.
"Lleyton (Hewitt), Rochey (Tony Roche) and Crabby (Jaymon Crabb), they sat me down the day after I lost and told me [about my selection for the Davis Cup team], so it kind of softened the blow after losing that match It. was very nice to hear, and I definitely walked out of Melbourne with more of a smile on my face."
Vukic added that being presented with the Davis Cup jacket by four-time Davis Cup champion Ken Rosewall was "surreal".
Hewitt has had his hands tied as he has been forced to make several changes to the squad.
Amongst the original squad was Kyrgios, but the former Wimbledon finalist will not be travelling to Stockholm due to a grade one abdominal strain.
"Nick won’t be coming here. He’s suffered a couple of injuries through the Australian summer," Hewitt explained. "I was excited to think of the potential for him to be back in the Davis Cup team, but it wasn’t to be, and obviously he’s very underdone with his body, so it’s not surprising he’s got an injury trying to play five-set tennis straight away without many matches."
However, the former world No.1 is confident that an Alex de Minaur-led Australia can complete the job against the Swedes.
"I’m very happy and confident with the squad and team that I have at my disposal. Very proud of the guys too to be honest because they make it a priority to play for Australia," said Hewitt, who guided Australia to back-to-back finals in 2022 and 2023.
"It’s not an easy time for us. They’ve had a lot of pressure and expectations playing in Australia and just straightaway hop on a plane and make this a priority. So, me and my coaching staff are very happy with the guys, and it’s going to be a pleasure for me to sit out on the court with them."
Earlier this week, Elias Ymer, Sweden's top-ranked singles player, announced on Instagram that he had withdrawn from the squad based on sharing "different views" with coach Simon Aspelin.
The tie commences on Saturday morning at 3am AEDT shown live on 9Gem, hosted by Brett Phillips.
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