Team Australia clinched a 2-1 victory over Team USA in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Davis Cup Finals on Thursday, Mattew Ebden and Jordan Thompson scoring a 6-4, 6-4 win in the deciding doubles rubber over Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton.
“Best of three set doubles, at the best of times, can hang on one or two points per set, and these boys came up clutch when I needed them to,” beamed captain Lleyton Hewitt on court after the match.
The Aussies and Americans split the two singles rubbers when Taylor Fritz and Thanasi Kokkinakis won their respective matches over Alex de Minaur and Ben Shelton, throwing it to an Olympic-flavored dubles rubber between Ebden, who won gold in men’s doubles in Paris with John Peers and Paul, who won bronze with Fritz.
Ultimately Ebden and Thompson proved too consistent and served out the victory in one horu and 14 minutes at the Palacio de Deportes José María Martín Carpena in Málaga.
“We got a bloody rich history in this competition for well over 100 years,” said Hewitt. “These boys know the great players that have been before them, and what a great honor it is every time you get the chance to wear the green and gold out here. We’ve had a very similar team between six guys that have really put their hands up over the last three or four years now. They’ve gelled together well.
“We’ve had to make slight adjustments at certain times because of injuries and stuff. But I’m just super proud of the whole team as a collective. You’ve got to come out here and find two wins out of the three matches, and that’s never easy, and it was obviously a bloody tough team in the States today.”
The day began with a comprehensive win from Fritz, who is fresh off a runner-up finish at the Nitto ATP Finals, but Kokkinakis began to turn the tide, winning a third-set tiebreaker over Ben Shelton.
“Making selections are never easy,” Hewitt explained. “Thanasi played two incredible matches in Valencia for us only a couple months ago. We put him on ice until now and let him unleashed today. It’s not the normal schedule that a lot of players have but I kind of know how to work Thanasi, which is nice. Taylor Fritz played fantastic, obviously, against Alex. He’s very confident at the moment, coming off an incredible year at world No. 4. That was a tough one, but the boys had to light it up in live doubles, which is never easy.”
Paul and Shelton were late replacements to the equation, but the Aussies were undaunted, scoring the lone breaks in each set.
“We were expecting the other pair but we knew they have incredible players who can play doubles,” Ebden said on court. “We were ready, a slight adjustment, obviously, to more huge-serving singles players than the doubles craft, maybe. But it was just as big a challenge as any and out here, in the final live match, playing out here with Jordan was real fun. Following what Kokk did, unfortunately Alex went down, but it was so fun.”
The crucial break came in the penultimate game of the match, Ebden and Thompson navigating a marathon to convert their fourth break chance and put themselves a game from victory.
“When we got the break there at 4-4, I could have run over the whole bench!” joked Thompson, who won his first Masters 1000 title in doubles at the Mutua Madrid Open with Sebastian Korda back in May. “I always wear my heart on my sleeve and bleed green and gold.”
The Aussies now await the winners from the final quarterfinal tie between Italy and Argentina, with the semifinals to play out on Saturday.
