2023-11-22 22:31:08
Málaga (Spain) (AFP) – On the verge of elimination in the second singles, outgoing finalists Australia qualified for the Davis Cup semi-finals by beating the Czech Republic two wins to one in the quarterfinals Wednesday evening in Malaga.
Published on: 11/22/2023 – 11:31 p.m.
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Thanks to the success in the doubles of the pair Matthew Ebden-Max Purcell against Jiri Lehecka-Adam Pavlasek, 6-4, 7-5, the Australians remain in the race. They will face the surprising Finns in the semi-finals on Friday, who defeated the Canadians, the trophy holders, on Tuesday.
But the Australian team, led by former world No.1 Lleyton Hewitt, was almost ousted from the tournament, after losing the first singles, then coming within two points of a defeat in the second, at 6 -4, 5-3.
Tomas Machac (78th in the world) offered the first point to the Czechs, victorious in the competition in 2012 and 2013, by beating Jordan Thompson (56th) 6-4, 7-5 after a showdown of almost two o’clock.
The Czech Tomas Machac, winner of the Australian Jordan Thompson, in the quarter-final of the Davis Cup, November 22, 2023 in Malaga © LLUIS GENE / AFP
The second singles between Czech number 1 Jiri Lehecka (31st) and Australian Alex de Minaur (12th) lasted more than 2h30 (4-6, 7-6 (7/2), 7-5.) and kept all its promises
The young 22-year-old Czech first showed himself to be the most impressive by winning the first set 6-4. After being broken at the start of the second, he headed towards an easy victory in two sets, synonymous with qualification.
But when serving for the victory at 5-4, Lehecka lost the thread of the match, leaving De Minaur to line up two shutouts to break the break and take the lead (6-5). The two players finally had to play a decisive game during which De Minaur was much more solid to snatch a third set in the tie-break (7/2).
In the last round, the two men remained neck and neck. De Minaur, at the cost of a heroic defense, offered himself two break points. The second one was good. On his serve, the Australian went for victory at the net, thanks to a final volley (7-5).
Alex De Minaur during his victory against the Czech Jiri Lehecka in the quarter-final of the Davis Cup, November 22, 2023 in Malaga. With his back to the wall at 6-4, 5-4 opposing service, the Australian reversed the situation and allowed his team to equalize with a victory everywhere © JORGE GUERRERO / AFP/Archives
For the decisive doubles, the captain of the Czech team, Jaroslav Navratil, had changed his plans by bringing back to the court Lehecka, preferred to Jakub Mensik, initially associated with Adam Pavlasek.
The Australian pair Matthew Ebden-Max Purcell, victorious at Wimbledon in 2022, easily won the first set 6-4. In a much more contested second set, the Australians ended up making the break at 5-5 before sending their team to the last four (7-5). The Australians, who will start as big favorites against the Finns, will try to reach the final for the second consecutive year on Friday.
Jannik Sinner’s Italy, finalist of the ATP Masters against Novak Djokovic, faces the Netherlands on Thursday morning, while the world No. 1 and Serbia will face Great Britain in the afternoon. The winners of these two quarters will meet in the other semi-final on Saturday.
© 2023 AFP
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