Davis Cup: Australia moves into the last four after victory against USA

Thanasi Kokkinakis saved four match points to defeat Ben Shelton on Thursday at the Davis Cup Final 8.

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.”

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.”

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.