Thanasi Kokkinakis helps Australia sink USA at Davis Cup | ATP Tour | Tennis

Match Report

Kokkinakis heroics vs. Shelton help Australia sink USA at Davis Cup

Ebden/Thompson score deciding doubles win

November 21, 2024

Is 2024 the year Australia finally returns to the Davis Cup winner’s circle?

The 28-time champion took a dramatic step towards its first title in the teams’ event since 2003 on Thursday with a thrilling 2-1 victory against the United States in Malaga. Australia, runner-up in 2022 and 2023, can look to a remarkable opening singles win by Thanasi Kokkinakis as the key to its quarter-final triumph.

Kokkinakis saved four match points and let slip six of his own before prevailing 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(14) against Ben Shelton in the opening match of the tie. It was a thrilling reward for captain Lleyton Hewitt, who selected the No. 77 in the PIF ATP Rankings for the No. 2 singles match despite him being the fourth-highest ranked player on Australia’s roster.

“Making a selection is never easy,” said Hewitt. “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.”

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In a rematch of their Nitto ATP Finals group match from a week ago, Taylor Fritz took on Alex de Minaur in the No. 1 singles match. Just as he had in Turin, Fritz triumphed, earning a 6-3, 6-4 win to force a deciding doubles rubber. That effort later proved in vain, however, as Matthew Ebden and Jordan Thompson overcame Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton 6-4, 6-4 to send the Australian bench and its fans into raptures.

“Incredible. We got the break there at 4-4 [in the second set] and I could have run over the top of the whole bench there,” said Thompson. “I always wear my heart on my sleeve and bleed green and gold.”

Ebden and Thompson’s win came after United States’ captain Bob Bryan opted for a late change in his doubles lineup, with Paul and Shelton replacing Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram.

“We were expecting the other pair, but we knew they’ve got incredible players who can play doubles,” said Ebden. “We were ready. A slight adjustment obviously. More huge serving singles players than the doubles craft, maybe, but it was just as big a challenge as any. Out here, final live match, just to play with Jordan here was real fun. Following what Kokk did, unfortunately Alex went down, but what a day. So fun, so happy.”

Australia will now prepare for a semi-final clash on Saturday against defending champion Italy, led by World No. 1 Jannik Sinner, or Argentina. If Hewitt and his team go on to lift the title on Sunday in Malaga, they will snap their country’s longest wait for a Davis Cup trophy (21 years) since its first triumph in 1907.

“We’ve got a rich history in this competition over well over 100 years, so these boys know all the great players that have been before them and it’s a great honour every time you get the chance to wear the green and gold out here,” said Hewitt. “We’ve had a very similar group of six guys that have really put their hands up the past three or four years now, and they’ve gelled together well.

“We’ve had to make slight adjustments at certain times because of injuries, and I’m just super proud of the whole team as a collective.”