Clive Brunskill/Getty Images for ITF
Alex de Minaur led a great escape for Australia at the Davis Cup Final 8 on Wednesday to help send his country into the semi-finals in Malaga.
The 2022 Davis Cup runners-up were in a big hole against the Czech Republic after Tomas Machac beat Jordan Thompson 6-4, 7-5 and Jiri Lehecka built a 6-4, 5-3 lead against De Minaur. But from deuce in his 3-5 service game, the 24-year-old won 10 straight points to turn the match on its head.
Showing his famed fighting spirit, De Minaur levelled the tie at 1-1 with a 4-6, 7-6(2), 7-5 victory, breaking late in the final set before serving out the match to love.
That set the stage for a decisive doubles rubber that pit Aussies Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell against Czechs Lehecka and Adam Pavlasek. Behind a single break in each set, Ebden/Purcell scored a 6-4, 7-5 win to put Australia through to the semi-finals.
The 28-time Davis Cup champions will next face surprise semi-finalists Finland on Friday. Australia is second only to the United States (32 titles) on the all-time Davis Cup trophy list.
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