The Australian Davis Cup team secured a hard-fought victory over the Czech Republic, 2-1, on Wednesday to advance to the semi finals of the Tennis World Cup, a phase decided in the Final 8 in Malaga. It was an unforgettable comeback that saw Álex de Miñaur seal the decisive doubles point for his side.
De Minaur’s three-set win over Jiri Lehecka, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5, preserved the defending runners-up from a potential exit and kept Australia on track for a title chase they last celebrated two decades ago. The start of the tie did not go Australia’s way, and the opening singles match by Jordan Thompson against Tomas Machac, finished 6-4, 7-5 in favor of Thompson. Yet the day belonged to the team captain’s trusted lineup, which relied heavily on its No. 1 player to steady the ship when the pressure mounted.
De Miñaur, whose family heritage includes Spanish roots, had already teased Malaga’s crowd during the preview, signaling that in Spain’s absence he would draw the kind of noisy support that helped him surge a year earlier. The Australian’s resilience shone through as Lehecka, who had sparked a promising surge for the Czech side, found the going tough in the late stages of the match, and the unrelenting pressure from the stands seemed to fuel Australia’s comeback.
By capturing the pivotal moment in the match where it mattered most, De Minaur extended his long-standing Davis Cup record in 2023 to ten wins out of ten matches, cementing his status as the team’s backbone. The pairings then moved to the doubles court, where Lleyton Hewitt’s unit consolidated their position as favorite. Lehecka, burdened by fatigue, was paired with Adam Pavlasek, but the Australian duo of Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell were too strong, securing the win in straight sets.
The schedule that day had begun earlier with the Czech Republic trying to keep their momentum from prior campaigns alive. Jaroslav Navratil’s squad had steered his nation toward back-to-back titles in years past, but the twisting path of this year’s event promised a different narrative. Thompson’s early surge showed promise, yet Machac’s response grew sharper as the match evolved. What followed was a dramatic arc in which De Miñaur emerged as the central figure, turning the tide and writing the latest chapter in a Davis Cup story that remains dynamic and highly contested.
As a result, Australia closed out the Czech challenge and moved into the semi finals, where they prepared to face a strong Finland side. The tournament pattern this year has seen teams juggling stamina and strategy across a condensed schedule, with the doubles being a frequent turning point. In this case, the Australian triumph hinged on the resilience of its top players and the depth of the squad, who converted pressure into a memorable victory and continued a tradition of competitive excellence on the international stage.