Australia reached the semifinals of the 2024 Davis Cup Finals this Thursday, which is being held at the José María Martín Carpena Sports Palace in Málaga, after defeating the United States by a 2-1 result thanks to the victories, in singles, Thanasis Kokkinakis and, in doubles, Jordan Thompson and Matthew Ebden, before, Taylor Fritz had equalized the tie by defeating Alex De Miñaur.
The Australian team has slipped into the top four of the Davis Cup Finals after defeating one of the big favorites for the title, the United States, by two points. The team led by Lleyton Hewitt made good the point achieved by Kokkinakis against Ben Shelton (6-1, 4-6, 7-6(14)), for the doubles formed by Thompson and Ebden, who beat Tommy Paul and Shelton (6-4, 6-4), sign their place in the semifinals. The only American point would be achieved by Taylor Fritz, who defeated Alex de Minaur (6-3, 6-4) in the second match of the tie.
The tie started with an erratic Shelton, who was surprised by a great Kokkinakis who went over the American in 23 minutes with a resounding 6-1. However, the dynamics of the match would change in the second round. Shelton began to hit good serves – nine aces and 79% of firsts – and a single break in the first game was enough to tie the match.
And in the final set, both Shelton and Kokkinakis were accurate and showed no weakness with their serves, so the outcome of the first point was doomed to a tie-break. A decisive game full of alternatives on the scoreboard for both players, who had match points. But finally, the balance ended up tipping in favor of Kokkinakis, who closed the game (16-14) on his seventh match point and after raising four against him.
In the second match of the tie, the American number one, Taylor Fritz, showed why he is one of the fittest players of the moment. His team could not allow itself to fail, and took to the court very enthusiastic, which allowed it to start with a break in its favor and a 3-0 result. A distance that would be insurmountable for De Minaur, who would end up losing the first set 6-3 in 31 minutes.
The second set was much more even. In fact, De Miñaur started by hitting first, who managed, in the second game, to break his rival’s serve for the first time in the match. However, he could not confirm the break, and Fritz once again tied the set. An equality with which the final stretch of the set was reached (4-4). It would be there where the American, who had wasted three break points in the previous rest, would achieve his second break and, in the next game, with his serve, close the match (6-4) and equalize the tie.
And at the decisive point, American captain Bob Bryan chose Shelton and Tommy Paul ahead of Olympic runners-up Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram, while for Australia, Jordan Thompson and Olympic champion Matthew Ebden took to the court. And the Oceanians would start by hitting first with a ‘break’ on Paul’s first turn of serve. A break that, accompanied by the ‘Aussie’ security in the serves, would be enough to take the first set (6-4).
The second set would maintain the equality shown in the final stretch of the first. Both the Australians and the Americans were very confident with their serves, and in the first eight games only Thompson had to save a breaking ball. But the resistance to the serve would end up breaking in the ninth game of the set, when Thompson and Ebden achieved the ‘break’ that would be decisive for the match and the tie. 6-4, set, match and a move to the semifinals for Australia, which is already waiting for the winner of Italy-Argentina.