Davis Cup: Kooyong to host AUS-US match on grass

Belgian's Davis Cup team captain Johan Van Herck takes his place at the net as his player Steve Darcis serves during a practice session for the Davis Cup Final tennis match between Belgium and Britain, in Ghent, Belgium, last November. The final starts Friday and runs till Sunday. | AP Photo/Alastair Grant

MELBOURNE, Australia  — Lleyton Hewitt's debut as Australia's Davis Cup captain will take place against the United States at Kooyong, the former home of the Australian Open, in March.

Tennis Australia says Thursday the March 4-6 first-round match will be on a temporary grass court at the Melbourne complex that has hosted 10 Davis Cup matches, including Australia winning 1983 and 1986 finals against Sweden.

Australia's last meeting on grass at Kooyong against the US was in 1993, with the hosts winning 4-1 in the first round. The March match is their 46th Davis Cup encounter. The US has won the Davis Cup a record 32 times, with Australia in second place with 28.

The 34-year-old Hewitt, a former No. 1 and two-time Grand Slam singles champion, will retire after January's Australian Open.

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