Australia’s men’s tennis team is on the brink of another shot at Davis Cup glory after securing their second group-stage victory in just three days with a 3-0 sweep over a weakened Czech Republic team in Valencia.
Under the guidance of captain Lleyton Hewitt, the Australian team—runners-up in the Davis Cup for the past two years—are now strong favorites to advance to the final-eight stage in Malaga this November. After a hard-fought 2-1 victory over France, they faced a much easier challenge against the injury and illness-stricken Czechs on Thursday.
Thanasi Kokkinakis, trusted with the No. 2 singles position by Hewitt, once again delivered on the indoor hard court, managing the powerful but inconsistent play of rising star Jakub Mensik. Kokkinakis claimed an impressive 6-2, 6-7 (2-7), 6-3 victory in the opening match.
The Czech team’s struggles continued as their No. 1 player, Tomas Machac, withdrew from the second match after just eight minutes due to injury. Machac, who had also retired in a previous match against Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, was visibly struggling with a heavily strapped right calf. This handed Alexei Popyrin and the Australians another win.
To cap off a successful day, the Australian doubles team of Matt Ebden and Max Purcell easily defeated Mensik and Adam Pavlasek 6-4, 6-2, improving their Davis Cup record to 8-1.
Kokkinakis’s performance was especially praised by Hewitt, who had opted to play him over the higher-ranked Jordan Thompson. Kokkinakis, now world No. 78, followed up his straight-sets victory over Arthur Fils of France with another strong showing, including 19 aces in his match against Mensik.
The win puts Australia in a commanding position to reach the finals in Malaga, with a match against the Alcaraz-led Spanish team still to come on Sunday. If Spain defeats France on Friday, Australia’s spot in the finals will be assured. However, a slim chance remains that an unlikely series of results could still jeopardize their qualification.