After beating France in its opening tie on the Davis Cup Finals Group Stage, Australia subsequent turns its consideration to the problem posed by Czech Republic.
Valencia, Spain, 12 September 2024 | Matt Trollope> READ MORE: Australia edges out thrilling victory towards France
What’s extra, the Czechs suffered a possible setback when No.1 singles participant Tomas Machac endured bodily issues – considered cramping – which pressured him to retire early within the third set of his singles rubber towards Carlos Alcaraz.
Nonetheless, Australian captain Lleyton Hewitt shouldn’t be taking them evenly.
“It’s going to be a tricky tie. Our two remaining ties are going to be robust,” stated Hewitt, additionally referencing Australia’s upcoming tie towards Spain on Sunday.
“Machac’s now clearly the No.1 on rating as effectively; [Jiri] Lehecka’s No.2. [Jakub] Mensik they might throw in as effectively, who’s a high quality participant who performed effectively in New York.
“They’ve obtained loads of choices, and so they have doubles workforce as effectively. So received’t be taking something with no consideration.”
The Aussies and the Czechs have met 10 instances in Davis Cup play, with Australia successful 9 of these ties, together with the previous 4.
The latest of these got here in final 12 months’s Davis Cup Finals in Malaga. Australia received 2-1 to advance to the semifinal stage, the place a win over Finland catapulted them right into a second straight closing.
Australia is searching for its first Davis Cup title since 2003, and twenty ninth general.
And its momentum is constructing in Spain.
Thanasi Kokkinakis’ straight-sets win over Arthur Fils – his sixth singles victory within the workforce competitors – put the Aussies in a successful place earlier than Matt Ebden and Max Purcell clinched the tie in a reside doubles rubber.
Ebden and Purcell have constructed a glowing 7-1 win-loss report in Davis Cup and are undefeated within the competitors since 2022, the identical 12 months they received the Wimbledon males’s doubles title.
They’re on a five-match successful streak as a pair in Davis Cup play.
“I simply again the truth that Matty and I accomplish that effectively after we’re optimistic and play collectively,” stated Purcell, after beating Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Edouard Roger-Vasselin, each main doubles champions themselves.
“So any workforce that is available in towards us at 1-1 has sort of most likely felt like they’ve misplaced the day anyway.”
