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
Australia will look to proceed its so-far-unbeaten run on the Davis Cup Finals Group Stage when it takes on Czech Republic on Thursday afternoon in Valencia (Friday 12am AEST).
The Aussies started with a 2-1 tie victory over France two days in the past, and subsequent meet a Czech squad coming off a 3-0 loss to hosts Spain.
> READ MORE: Australia edges out thrilling victory in opposition to 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 in opposition to Carlos Alcaraz.
Nonetheless, Australian captain Lleyton Hewitt shouldn’t be taking them evenly.
“It’s going to be a troublesome tie. Our two remaining ties are going to be powerful,” mentioned Hewitt, additionally referencing Australia’s upcoming tie in opposition to Spain on Sunday.
“Machac’s now clearly the No.1 on rating as nicely; [Jiri] Lehecka’s No.2. [Jakub] Mensik they might throw in as nicely, who’s a high quality participant who performed nicely in New York.
“They’ve received loads of choices, and so they have a very good doubles workforce as nicely. So gained’t be taking something with no consideration.”
The Aussies and the Czechs have met 10 occasions in Davis Cup play, with Australia profitable 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 gained 2-1 to advance to the semifinal stage, the place a win over Finland catapulted them right into a second straight ultimate.
Australia is searching for its first Davis Cup title since 2003, and twenty ninth total.
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 profitable 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 gained the Wimbledon males’s doubles title.
They’re on a five-match profitable streak as a pair in Davis Cup play.
“I simply again the truth that Matty and I accomplish that nicely after we’re optimistic and play collectively,” mentioned Purcell, after beating Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Edouard Roger-Vasselin, each main doubles champions themselves.
“So any workforce that is available in in opposition to us at 1-1 has type of in all probability felt like they’ve misplaced the day anyway.”
