LIVE: Demon up now in ‘revenge’ bid for loss that still gives Hewitt ‘nightmares’

Alex de Minaur leads the Aussie charge into the second round of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park.

The world No. 10 is seeking “revenge” against one of the men who knocked Australia out of the Davis Cup, Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi, in the second match of the day session – de Minaur’s preferred timeslot, but one he’ll rarely get to play in at his home slam this year, given his high ranking and the tournament’s interest in having him headline the prime time session.

Australia’s Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt doubled down on Demon’s claims he’s out for ‘revenge’ after Australia lost to Italy in November’s Davis Cup final – where Arnaldi beat Alexei Popyrin.

“We want revenge. I’m still having nightmares where Arnaldi won a cliffhanger against Alexei Popyrin,” Hewitt said on Wednesday.

“If we were somehow able to win that match we would have held up the Davis Cup trophy. That’s been tough. That will be in the back of Alex’s mind.”

“It was a tough pill to swallow. To come so close yet again two years in a row. I know how much it hurts the boys. That will drive them on to bigger and better things.”

Should de Minaur win he’ll face the victor of Pavel Kotov’s clash with Flavio Cobolli, two little-known players who’d never before won a grand slam match, bidding for career-bests over on the ‘party court’ of Court 6.

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