With only the Czech Republic and Finland standing in its way of the Davis Cup final, Australia went into this week’s festivities in Malaga, Spain with a golden chance to capture its first Davis Cup title since 2003.
That opportunity almost evaporated in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
Having already taken the first singles rubber (Tomas Machac defeated Jordan Thompson), the Czech Republic found itself within one game of the semis when Jiri Lehecka led Alex de Minaur 6-4, 5-3. However, Lehecka could not get across the finish line and the Czechs ultimately went down to the Australians 2-1.
A massive comeback in the second singles match proved to be the difference. De Minaur came back from 15-30 down at 3-5 in the second set and then broke Lehecka at love to stay alive and pull even at 5-5. The 12th-ranked Aussie won the ensuing tiebreaker and managed to maintain momentum when he held from 0-40 down at 2-3 in the third. De Minaur eventually earned the crucial break at 5-5 before serving out the match at love, prevailing in two hours and 32 minutes to play.
Following De Minaur’s heroics, the Australians were heavy favorites in the decisive doubles rubber. Unsurprisingly, Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell took care of Lehecka and Adam Pavlasek 6-4, 7-5 in one hour and 13 minutes.
Australia’s survival sends the 28-time Davis Cup champion into a Friday semifinal showdown against Finland. The Finnish side beat Canada 2-1 on Tuesday despite being without an injured Emil Ruusuvuori.
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nice one, Demon
Alex never quits