Australia Wears Heart On Its Sleeve, Advances To Davis Cup Final 8 Semis

Australia, Davis Cup
Team Australia’s Matthew Ebden, Jordan Thompson and Lleyton Hewitt (photo: Matt McNulty/Getty Images for ITF)

MALAGA/WASHINGTON, November 21, 2024 (by Michael Dickens)

The United States and Australia, the two most successful nations in Davis Cup history, arrived at the Davis Cup Final 8 this week in Spain hungering for a taste of victory. Both have experienced their longest-ever gap between winning Davis Cup titles.

The U.S. last won the title in 2007, which put an end to their previous longest wait of 12 years between 1995 and 2007. Meanwhile, Australia, a 28-time champion, last won the Davis Cup nearly 21 years ago in 2003. Prior to their current drought, their previous longest gap between lifting the famed trophy was 20 years, between 1919 and 1939.

After seven years since their last tussle in 2017 – and in their 48th Davis Cup meeting overall – Thursday’s quarterfinal tie in Malaga came down to the deciding doubles point after the two nations split their singles matches. However, Australia delivered when it mattered most and beat the United States 2-1 to advance to Saturday’s semifinal round against either Italy or Argentina, who play later Thursday.

In the decisive doubles match, in which the U.S. team captain Bob Bryan surprisingly subbed singles stars Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul in place of previously nominated Paris Olympic silver medalists Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek at the last minute, the Aussies converted their fourth break point during an exciting 12-point ninth game to push ahead 5-4 in the second set. It came after they won the opener. Then, with Jordan Thompson serving for a berth in the semifinals, there was no looking back. He fired an ace out wide to set up match point, and with two chances to seal the win, Thompson backed it with an ace up the middle for the 6-4, 6-4 victory that wrapped in an hour and 14 minutes.

The Australians, featuring two Top-10 doubles players, came together superbly at the end and proved themselves as the better team. They were just too strong for the Americans – combining to serve four aces while winning 94 percent of their first-serve points. Thompson and Matthew Ebden saved both break points they faced and broke Shelton and Paul twice in five tries. They took advantage of 24 forced and 17 unforced errors by the American duo and outpointed the U.S. 61-52.

“Incredible,” Thompson said in summing up his feelings during an on-court interview after the victory with Ebden by his side. “I was wearing my heart on my sleeve.”

Ebden noted the decision by Bryan to substitute his doubles nomination made a difference in how he and Thompson prepared for their match. He said: “A little bit, yeah. For sure. We were expecting the other pair (Ram and Krajicek). We knew they’ve got incredible players that can play doubles. We were ready; a slight adjustment, obviously. More huge-serving singles players than doubles craft, maybe. It was just as a big a challenge as any. Out here in the final live match, it was real fun. … What a day. We’re happy.”

Earlier, Thanasi Kokkinakis survived an 18-minute, 30-point third-set tiebreaker — sixth-longest in Davis Cup history — against the World No. 21 Shelton, who was making his Davis Cup debut. He saved four match points and won on his seventh match-point opportunity to pull out an impressive 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (14) victory that gave Australia a 1-0 lead and put them in position to reach the semifinal round for the third consecutive year.

In a battle of big servers – Shelton tallied 21 aces and Kokkinakis 18 – the 77th-ranked Australian won 83 percent of his first-serve points and saved three of four break points. Kokkinakis converted three of 11 break points, and by the end of the two-hour, 17-minute thriller, he had outpointed the American 109-98.

Upon successfully converting his seventh match point, after Shelton sent a backhand return beyond the baseline, Kokkinakis fell on his back and celebrated his triumph, much to the delight of the Australian fans who filled Martín Carpena Arena.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever been that pumped up in my life. I wanted that one bad, I wanted to help my team,” Kokkinakis said during his on-court interview. “I came out playing unbelievable. The second set I was a little bit unlucky. I thought I was playing good tennis throughout. It could have gone either way. In the end, that’s tennis. I kept my nerve. I really wanted to win for the boys.”

Kokkinakis, who is the fourth-highest ranked player on Team Australia, has now won all three of his Davis Cup matches this year. His resilience throughout the opening match – especially during the marathon tie-break – made a genius of Australia team captain Lleyton Hewitt, who bypassed higher-ranked players Alexis Popyrin and Thompson in favor of Kokkinakis.

“It’s a massive win for me. Every match has its own special sort of moments. To play not only for myself but also the boys out there. Lleyton showed faith in me,” Kokkinakis said. “We’ve got a lot of great players on the bench as well. Anyone could have played, but I just wanted to give my all. I never know how I’m going to play – if I’m going to play well or not – but I wanted to play well and give myself a chance.”

Next, World No. 4 Taylor Fritz of the U.S. was ruthlessly efficient against No. 9 Alex de Minaur of Australia, in a battle of Top-10 titans. Under pressure, he won 6-3, 6-4 behind a solid serving display, in which he won 79 percent of his first-serve points and produced 10 aces. He finished in style by winning match point with a running backhand winner.

The American No. 1 from California stepped on court knowing he had to win. Fritz showed no signs of tension – he made a fast start by breaking de Minaur at love in the second game of the match – and garnered his second win over the Aussie in the past two weeks. Fritz outpointed de Minaur 64-50.

“It’s huge,” Fritz said of his win over de Minaur, which ensured the U.S.-Australia tie would be decided by doubles. “We would hate to just go two matches and be out here. There was a lot obviously riding on that one – a lot of pressure for both of us. I’m just really happy with how I held it together.”

As it happened, the Americans bowed in three after losing the doubles point in Bryan’s Davis Cup Final 8 debut as U.S. team captain, his first finals since taking the role full time last year. If there was an element of trying to catch the Australians off guard, it didn’t work. Paul, ranked 12th in singles, was broken in his first service game and the more experienced Thompson and Ebden, who between them won the Australian Open, Olympic Games gold medal and US Open men’s doubles competitions this year, showed their expertise throughout.

With the defeat, the U.S., which has won the Davis Cup championship 32 times, have not reached the semifinals since 2018.

Following their quarterfinal triumph, which kept their Davis Cup hopes alive, Hewitt summed up his feelings about what it means to represent Australia and how proud he was of his team’s effort. “We’ve got a bloody rich history in this competition, well over 100 years. These boys know all the great players that have been before them. It’s a great honor anytime you get the chance to wear the green and gold out here,” he said.

“We’ve had a similar team – a group of six guys – who have put their hand up the last three or four years now. They’ve gelled together well. We’ve made some slight adjustments at certain times because of injuries. I’m just proud of the whole team as a collective.

“You have to come out here and find two wins out of the three matches. It’s never easy.”

By the numbers

Thursday’s quarterfinal tie was the 48th meeting between the United States and Australia in Davis Cup competition, which dates back to 1905. Of their previous 47 meetings, 45 have come at the equivalent of the quarterfinal stage or later. The U.S. leads the series 26-22.

“Quotable …”

• “I still feel like there is a lot of good tennis in me left. I feel like I can cause an upset and play big matches and have big wins, as I have shown this year. It’s just about trying to be consistent and playing more events. I’ve always struggled with that.”

– Thanasi Kokkinakis of Australia, following his victory over Ben Shelton that gave Australia a 1-0 lead.

• “Making a selection is never easy. Thanasi played two incredible matches in Valencia for us only a couple of months ago. We kind of put him on ice until now and unleashed him today. He fully repaid us. That was fantastic.”

– Australia team captain Lleyton Hewitt, post-match, explaining his decision to insert No. 77-ranked Thanasi Kokkinakis into today’s lineup at No. 2 singles.

• “We were hoping to catch the Aussies a little bit by surprise, but those guys rose to the occasion and served a high percentage, took care of their, you know, their shots and stepped up. I’m proud of the way we competed. We could have won it this year with this team. This team has the talent and the ability. It came within an inch of getting another chance in the semis.”

– U.S. team captain Bob Bryan, post-match, on his decision to bypass doubles specialists Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek in doubles in favor of singles stars Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul.

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