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Australia is one step closer to ending its 14-year Davis Cup drought after defeating the United States by 3-2 to progress to the semi-finals for just the second time in the last eleven years.
Nick Kyrgios, currently in the midst of the best form of his career, sealed victory for the Aussies when he defeated Sam Querrey in straight sets in the fourth rubber yesterday to give the nation an unassailable 3-1 lead.
That followed his equally-as-impressive victory over John Isner on Friday, which came hot on the heels of Jordan Thompson’s four-set triumph over Jack Sock, both of which set the Australians up for success.
Lleyton Hewitt’s side had the chance to wrap up the tie in Saturday’s doubles, but the pairing of Sam Groth and John Peers went down to Steve Johnson and Jack Sock, who at the insistence of captain Jim Courier replaced Sam Querrey.
Entering the reverse singles, it was all up to Kyrgios to seal the tie for the Australians if he could defeat Querrey, to whom he lost in the semi-finals in Acapulco last month, in the fourth rubber.
Things did not start well for the 21-year-old as he went down 0-3 in the opening set, including double-faulting twice in his first service game, but would fight back to force a tiebreak which he took by 7-4.
The Canberran then took the second set 6-3 and fell behind 1-4 in the third as Querrey sought to force his way back into the match, however, Kyrgios would rattle off five games in a row to clinch victory in two hours, serving his 21st ace of the match on his first match point.
With the tie already decided, Sam Groth replaced Jordan Thompson for the meaningless fifth rubber against John Isner, and after dropping the opening set in a tiebeak he proceeded to lose in straight sets, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, to establish the final score of 3-2.
Lleyton Hewitt’s side will now await the identity of their opponents in the semi-finals of the Davis Cup, which will take place in the first weekend after the US Open in September.
They are in the same half as Belgium and Italy, which the former leads 2-1 ahead of the reverse singles overnight.
Steve Darcis and David Goffin won their respective singles ties against Paolo Lorenzi and Andreas Seppi in four and straight sets, but the Italians pegged back a point with a victory in the doubles.
Should the Belgians triumph as expected, they will host Australia in the week after the US Open, or if Italy can somehow come from two rubbers to love down then the Australians will host them.
One Davis Cup semi-final is already set, with France to host Serbia after they posted 3-0 victories over Great Britain and Spain respectively.
It means that Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Novak Djokovic could face off in a potentially tie-deciding rubber, should both players choose to play this tie, to determine which nation advances to the final.
In France, Lucas Pouille and Jeremy Chardy preyed on a Great Britain side missing world number one Andy Murray, defeating Kyle Edmund and Dan Evans in their respective singles rubbers before Julien Benneteau and Nicholas Mahut sealed the tie for the French in the doubles.
Likewise, in Serbia, Novak Djokovic marshaled their 3-0 lead over a Spanish side missing Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer and Roberto Bautista-Agut, among others, with a straight-sets win over Albert Ramos-Vinolas.
Belgium versus Italy
Steve Darcis defeated Paolo Lorenzi 6-7 (3-7), 6-1, 6-1, 7-6 (7-4)
David Goffin defeated Andreas Seppi 6-4, 6-3, 6-3
Simone Bolelli/Andreas Seppi defeated Ruben Bemelmans/Joris De Loore 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6)
Australia versus United States
Jordan Thompson defeated Jack Sock 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4
Nick Kyrgios defeated John Isner 7-5, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5)
Steve Johnson/Jack Sock defeated Sam Groth/John Peers 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3
Nick Kyrgios defeated Sam Querrey 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, 6-4
John Isner defeated Sam Groth 7-5 (7-5), 6-3
France versus Great Britain
Lucas Pouille defeated Kyle Edmund 7-5, 7-6 (8-6), 6-3
Jeremy Chardy defeated Dan Evans 6-2, 6-3, 6-3
Julien Benneteau/Nicholas Mahut defeated Dominic Inglot/Jamie Murray 7-6 (9-7), 5-7, 7-5, 7-5
Serbia versus Spain
Novak Djokovic defeated Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-3, 6-4, 6-2
Viktor Troicki defeated Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 6-4, 6-3
Viktor Troicki/Nenad Zimonjic defeated Pablo Carreno Busta/Marc Lopez 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-0, 4-6, 6-2
Davis Cup semi-finals
Belgium or Italy versus Australia in Belgium or Australia
France versus Serbia in France
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