Malaga, Spain, 22 November 2024 | Rhys de Deugd

Lleyton Hewitt’s bold captain’s pick to promote world No.77 Thanasi Kokkinakis to open Australia’s Davis Cup quarterfinal has paid off following his team’s 2-1 defeat of long-time rivals the USA.

For the fourth time since 2017, the boys in green and gold headed to the semifinals after some inspired brilliance led to the upset over a star-studded lineup.

Thriving on the big stage, Kokkinakis overcame a rankings gap of 56 places and saved four match points against Ben Shelton in a classic showdown.

With four top-100 singles players available for two spots, Hewitt showed faith in the hero from two Davis Cup Finals group stage wins two months ago.

A HUGE win for @TKokkinakis 💪#DavisCup | @TennisAustralia pic.twitter.com/7jJ1vroOJV

— Davis Cup (@DavisCup) November 21, 2024

The only other matches Kokkinakis had played since were on his way to the Sydney Challenger title and a losing Laver Cup singles outing.

“I had full belief in him. I know the rest of the boys did too to go out there today,” Hewitt said.

“He was hitting it a treat all week leading in. He got what he deserved. He put in a very tough training block for us to get that win today, which was bloody important.”

Hewitt had full confidence in his selection despite having overlooked top-30 charges, Montreal Masters champion Alexei Popyrin and Jordan Thompson.

Kokkinakis proved his worth early and outclassed the American to close out the first set in just 22 minutes. However, the remainder of the match remained as close as a whisper.

“I knew he would start to play better and find his rhythm a little bit more in the second set,” Kokkinakis said.

“I felt like every time I’d start to get a bit of rhythm on the return, he’d start to come up with a really good serve in that third set.”

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The third-set tiebreak elevated the match from great to legendary, as the 30-point decider became the sixth-longest in Davis Cup history.

“I kept looking at the score ticking over, and I couldn’t believe how long the tiebreak was going,” Kokkinakis said.

“Super happy to get that. Happy that Lleyton had faith in me again to put me in.”

Kokkinakis has now won his past four Davis Cup Finals matches, winning all three this year, paired with career-best results in all four Grand Slams.

In a rematch of their ATP Finals showdown a week ago, new world No.4 Taylor Fritz saw off Australian No.1 Alex de Minaur, a late confirmation to the team, in straight sets to force the deciding doubles rubber.

GREEN AND GOLD 💚💛

Jordan Thompson and Matt Ebden provide the goods to eliminate the United States from the #DavisCup and progress to the semifinals. pic.twitter.com/XvE1T2C8F6

— TennisAustralia (@TennisAustralia) November 21, 2024

The line-up for that clash was no less calculated as Hewitt backed the duo of US Open doubles champion Jordan Thompson and Olympic gold medallist Matthew Ebden, two of the most in-form doubles players available.

US captain Bob Bryan opted for a last-minute change when he fielded Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton instead of the Olympic silver medallists Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek or Olympic bronze medallists Fritz and Tommy Paul.

The Australians prevailed 6-4 6-4 to seal the tie and book their spot in the semifinals.

The experienced Aussie doubles specialist Ebden improved his overall Davis Cup record to an outstanding 14-3 with the win and proved not to be phased by the switch in players.

“Obviously they had written down Krajicek and Ram, so it was a change,” Ebden said.

“It was going to be tough regardless, and we are just glad we combined well and got it done.”

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