Australia has pulled off an ideal escape to maneuver by means of to the Davis Cup knockout rounds with a 3-0 sweep of Switzerland in Manchester on Sunday morning.
Thanasi Kokkinakis and Alex de Minaur each gained their singles matches in straight units earlier than doubles duo Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell completed it off on a day when the Aussies wanted a 3-0 sweep to be assured progress by means of to the quarter-finals in Malaga in November.
The win means Australia has certified as one of many prime two groups in Group B, with Britain or France to hitch them.
“I’m extremely proud of the boys – the effort, the backs-against-the-wall motto of being able to fight our way out of it and see the big picture,” Aussie captain Lleyton Hewitt informed tennis.com.au.
“They were able to do it and they deserve it.
“We gave ourselves a great opportunity last year and the boys got a taste for it. We want to try and push a little bit harder and see if we can climb that mountain and I feel like I’ve got the boys that are able to do that.”
Kokkinakis rebounded from his singles defeat in opposition to Jack Draper earlier within the week to defeat Dominic Stricker 6-3 7-5 within the opening rubber.
Kokkinakis justified his contentiousselection by Hewitt after he was chosen for the singles rubbers forward of upper ranked participant Jordan Thompson.
He stated his feeling after the win was “just pure relief” after his earlier singles loss in opposition to Britain.
“I’m not going to lie, I was fighting some demons there towards the end,” he stated.
“If you lose, you feel like you’ve let everyone down so it’s tough, I’m not going to lie.”
The Aussie gave one response in his on-court interview after the match that didn’t go down effectively with a number of the followers.
When requested if he most well-liked Manchester United or Manchester City, Kokkinakis responded with London-based Premier League rival “Chelsea”.
De Minaur then impressed with a dominant 6-4 6-3 win over Marc-Andrea Huesler.
“It’s something we don’t take for granted … every time he steps on the court he leaves it all out there,” Hewitt stated of De Minaur.
“He is the leader of this team out on the court and he makes my job so much bloody easier having him there, that’s for sure.”
Meanwhile, Finland wrote a brand new web page of their tennis historical past, beating the United States 2-1 in Split to succeed in the final eight of the Davis Cup for the primary time.
Otto Virtanen set the Finns rolling within the winner-take-all match in opposition to the Americans with a 7-6 (7/5), 1-6, 7-6 (9/7) win over Mackenzie McDonald.
Emil Ruusuvuori then adopted up with a 7-6 (7/1), 6-4 victory in opposition to world quantity 13 Tommy Paul on his fourth match level, sending Finland by means of with Netherlands from Group D.
“You can hear it from the (fans). It means a lot for the whole country, for tennis in Finland. It’s a huge thing,” 24-year-old Ruusuvuori stated post-match.
“We’re going to Malaga!”
— with AFP
Source: www.news.com.au
