Australia beat the United States 2-1 to reach the Davis Cup semifinals for the third consecutive year at the Palacio de Deportes José Maria Martina Carpena in Malaga.
Thanasi Kokkinakis battled past Ben Shelton 6-1 4-6 7-6 (16-14) in the opening match. Shelton held serve at love in the opening game that included an ace and three service winners, but he lost 12 of his next 16 service games and Kokkinakis won six consecutive games with three breaks to clinch the first set 6-1. Shelton broke serve in the first game and held serve at 15 to take a 2-0 lead. The US player saved four break points in the sixth game and one chance in the 10th game before serving out the second set 6-4.
Kokkinakis, who won the Australian Open doubles title with Nick Kyrgios in 2022, saved match points in the tie-break before converting his seventh opportunity.
“I don’t know if I have been that pumped up in my life. I wanted that for my team. It could have gone either way, but I kept my nerve”, said Kokkinakis.
This year’s US Open runner-up Taylor Fritz beat Alex De Minaur 6-3 6-4 to force the tie to a decisive doubles clash. Fritz broke in the second game to win the first set 6-3. De Minaur converted his second break point to take a 2-0 lead. Fritz broke straight back in the third game to draw level to 2-2. Fritz broke for the second time in the ninth game before closing it on his first match point. Fritz won 9 of his 10 service games.
Matt Ebden and Jordan Thompson beat Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul 6-4 6-4 in the decisive doubles match. The Australian doubles specialists earned a break in each set. Ebden converted the fourth break point in the ninth game of the second set to take a 5-4 with a overhead smash. Thompson closed it out with a service winner. US captain Bob Bryan opted for a change in the US doubles line-up, as Shelton and Paul replaced Austin Krajcek and Rajeev Ram.
“It’s 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. I always wear my heart on my sleeve and bleed green and gold”, said Thompson.
