MALAGA, Spain — In a thrilling match, Thanasi Kokkinakis triumphed over Ben Shelton in a nail-biting tiebreaker, saving four match points before securing a victory with his seventh attempt. The final score was 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (14), which gave Australia an early 1-0 advantage against the United States in the Davis Cup quarterfinals held on Thursday.
Set on the indoor hard court at the Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martina Carpena, Kokkinakis, currently ranked 77th, faced the formidable challenge of Shelton, who is ranked 21st and known for his powerful serves. Shelton unleashed a remarkable 21 aces during the contest but struggled with consistency, particularly in the face of Kokkinakis’s determination.
Next up in the singles competition was U.S. Open finalist Taylor Fritz from the United States, who was set to compete against Australia’s No. 9 player, Alex de Minaur. A potential victory for Fritz would lead to a deciding doubles match, featuring Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram from the U.S., against Australia’s duo of Matthew Ebden and Jordan Thompson.
As the gripping first match concluded, Kokkinakis celebrated wildly after Shelton’s backhand sailed long. After falling backward in excitement, he spiked his racket on the ground and embraced the Australian team’s captain, Lleyton Hewitt. “I don’t know if I’ve been that pumped up in my life. I wanted that for my team,” Kokkinakis expressed after the match. “It could have gone either way, but I kept my nerve.” Kokkinakis previously won the men’s doubles title at the 2022 Australian Open alongside Nick Kyrgios.
A critical point in the match was Shelton’s high count of unforced errors, finishing with 29 in his Davis Cup debut—almost double the 15 errors recorded by Kokkinakis. He started strongly with a powerful opening game, hitting an ace at 139 mph (224 kph) and a series of service winners, but quickly fell out of rhythm. Shelton lost 12 of his next 16 service points, surrendering six consecutive games. The first set ended with Shelton double-faulting after being called for a foot fault.
In the second set, Shelton found his form, breaking Kokkinakis to kick off the set and adeptly saving all five break points he encountered. However, he could not capitalize on multiple opportunities in the intense tiebreaker.
Fritz faced a demanding schedule after playing in the ATP Finals on Sunday in Turin, Italy, where he was defeated by world No. 1 Jannik Sinner. Following the final, he quickly flew to Spain and practiced in the days leading up to the match. Fritz was the last American man to reach a Grand Slam singles final since 2009 when he lost in the U.S. Open final to Sinner in September.
The United States boasts an impressive 32 Davis Cup titles yet has not reached the semifinals since 2018 and has not claimed victory since 2007, marking their longest period without a title in this team competition. Meanwhile, Australia, with 28 titles, was the runner-up in the past two years.
The winning nation will advance to face either defending champions Italy, led by Sinner, or Argentina in the semifinals on Saturday. Meanwhile, the other semifinal matchup will feature the Netherlands against Germany, with the Dutch team having eliminated Rafael Nadal and Spain in the quarterfinals, marking a significant moment in Nadal’s career as he approaches retirement.