Matthew Ebden and Max Purcel breathed new life into Australia’s hopes in the group stage of the Davis Cup final on Thursday in Manchester, where the pair claimed a decisive doubles victory to give their country a vital victory against France.
After losing their first Group B match 1-2 to hosts Great Britain, Australia found themselves in further trouble when Adrian Mannarino He beat Purcell 7-6 (4), 6-4 in the first singles match of the tie. Alex de Minaur soon restored parity in the 17th Davis Cup tie between the two nations, however, overcame Hugo Humbert 7-6(2), 6-3.
That opened the door for Ebden and Purcell to claim Australia’s first win of the group and the pair jumped at the opportunity. They defeated experienced doubles stars Nicolas Mahout and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 7-5, 6-3 to complete a hard-won comeback in the tie.
🇦🇺 @MaxPurcell98 knows how to seal a tie 🔥 @DavisCup | #DavisCup | @TennisAustralia pic.twitter.com/R2s7QveVL4
— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 14, 2023
“Our team just inspired us,” Ebden said. “Yesterday was a hard day. Everyone fought hard. We fell short, but we got a point. Today we were fallen, against that, with our backs to the wall. We went to the locker room and (Tony Roche) said: “That’s where we love to be, from there we want to fight.”
“Alex de Minaur “We went out and did amazing first and we were privileged to have the opportunity to go out and wrestle.”
Australia next faces Switzerland in their final group match as they seek their fifth Davis Cup quarter-final appearance since 2015.
Czech cargo continues in Valencia
The Czech Republic played six matches and won six matches in Group C. Tomas Machac and Use Lehecka completed individual victories on Thursday against South Korea.
The Czechs began their week by beating host nation Spain 3-0 and kept that momentum going to get closer to the Final 8. Machac had to overcome some difficult moments against Seongchan Hong but ultimately prevailed 7-6(8), 4-6, 6-2 before world No. 30 Lehecka showed his class to overcome the two-time ATP Tour champion. Soon Woo Kwon 6-1, 7-5.
#NextGenATP Star Jakub Mensik and Adam Pavlasek Then the Czech’s perfect start to the week in Spain continued by winning Ji Sung Nam and MinKyu song 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 in the doubles match to close out a 3-0 victory.