Australia reaches the semifinals of the 2024 Davis Cup

Thanasi Kokkinakis (YouTube)

Australia has reached the semifinals of the 2024 Davis Cup in Malaga, Spain. On Thursday, Australia defeated the United States two matches to one in the quarterfinals, and will now face Italy in the semifinals on Saturday.

Australia got off to a great start as Thanasi Kokkinakis of Adelaide upset American Ben Shelton, the 2023 United States Open semifinalist, 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 in their first meeting head-to-head. Kokkinakis was the 77th ranked player in the world, and seventh ranked Australian. Meanwhile, Shelton is ranked 21st.

The third set was significant as Kokkinakis won 16-14 in the third set tiebreak. A key statistic was unforced errors. Kokkinakis had 15 in the match and Shelton had 29.

The tie then went to a third match after Taylor Fritz beat Alex de Minaur of Sydney, 6-3, 6-4. That is when Matthew Ebden of Perth and Jordan Thompson of Sydney defeated Tommy Paul and Shelton 6-4, 6-4 in men’s doubles.

In Saturday’s matches, Kokkinakis will play Lorenzo Musetti in the first match, and then de Minaur will play Jannik Sinner in the second match. If necessary, Ebden and Thompson will face the Italian duo of Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori.

Musetti beat Kokkinakis in their one prior meeting. That was in the second round of the 2023 Canadian Open in Toronto, as Musetti won 4-6, 7-5, 6-4. Meanwhile, de Minaur has had no success against Sinner in the past, as the world number one has a dominant record of eight wins and zero losses against the top ranked Australian. The winner of Australia and Italy will play the Netherlands in the Davis Cup Final on Sunday.

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