Australia Captain Lleyton Hewitt pulled a couple of Davis Cup selection surprises with none bigger than Thanasi Kokkinakis to open the tie against the USA in Malaga.
Malaga, Spain, 22 November 2024 | Rhys de Deugd
Lleyton Hewitt’s bold captain’s pick to promote world No.77 Thanasi Kokkinakis to open Australia’s Davis Cup quarterfinal has paid off following his team’s 2-1 defeat of long-time rivals the USA.
For the fourth time since 2017, the boys in green and gold headed to the semifinals after some inspired brilliance led to the upset over a star-studded lineup.
Thriving on the big stage, Kokkinakis overcame a rankings gap of 56 places and saved four match points against Ben Shelton in a classic showdown.
With four top-100 singles players available for two spots, Hewitt showed faith in the hero from two Davis Cup Finals group stage wins two months ago.
A HUGE win for @TKokkinakis 💪#DavisCup | @TennisAustralia pic.twitter.com/7jJ1vroOJV
— Davis Cup (@DavisCup) November 21, 2024
The only other matches Kokkinakis had played since were on his way to the Sydney Challenger title and a losing Laver Cup singles outing.
“I had full belief in him. I know the rest of the boys did too to go out there today,” Hewitt said.
“He was hitting it a treat all week leading in. He got what he deserved. He put in a very tough training block for us to get that win today, which was bloody important.”
Hewitt had full confidence in his selection despite having overlooked top-30 charges, Montreal Masters champion Alexei Popyrin and Jordan Thompson.
Kokkinakis proved his worth early and outclassed the American to close out the first set in just 22 minutes. However, the remainder of the match remained as close as a whisper.
“I knew he would start to play better and find his rhythm a little bit more in the second set,” Kokkinakis said.
“I felt like every time I’d start to get a bit of rhythm on the return, he’d start to come up with a really good serve in that third set.”
The third-set tiebreak elevated the match from great to legendary, as the 30-point decider became the sixth-longest in Davis Cup history.
“I kept looking at the score ticking over, and I couldn’t believe how long the tiebreak was going,” Kokkinakis said.
“Super happy to get that. Happy that Lleyton had faith in me again to put me in.”
Chest bumping into the semis 🔥🇦🇺#DavisCup | @TennisAustralia pic.twitter.com/VL5EbFM8eq
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