Lleyton Hewitt’s Australian Davis Cup men are on the verge of another finals crack after beating an ailing Czech outfit 3-0 in the group stage in Valencia
Sharefinals glory after winning their second group-stage tie in just three days with a 3-0 whitewash of an ailing Czech Republic in Valencia.
The Czech challenge then crumbled after just eight minutes of the second rubber when their No 1 Tomas Machac, who had been forced to retire with cramp during his loss to Carlos Alcaraz in Wednesday’s loss against hosts Spain, again pulled out, this time with injury, against Alexei Popyrin. “Thanasi was fantastic in the first match,” said Hewitt, who was justified in choosing him ahead of the higher-ranked Jordan Thompson as the world No 78 provided the ideal follow-up to his straight-sets win over another rising star and higher-ranked opponent, Arthur Fils in the French tie.
The subsequent battle between the two No.1s turned into a farce as it immediately became obvious that Machac, moving stiffly and with right calf heavily strapped, shouldn’t have been playing at all as he needed courtside medical attention after losing just the first game.
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