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A game away from elimination, Australia found a way to rally and make its way back to the Davis Cup semifinals. Image- Reuters
Australia bounced back from behind to beat Czech Republic 2-1 on Wednesday to enter the Davis Cup 2023 semi-finals. Australia thus made it to the last four for the second consecutive year.
Also Read: Davis Cup 2023: Finland beats defending champion Canada to reach semifinals
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Alex de Minaur kept Australian hopes alive by coming back from a set down. Max Purcell and Matthew Ebden then won the decisive doubles match, sealing Australia's place in the Davis Cup 2023 semi-finals where they will face Finland on Friday.
Tomas Machac defeated Jordan Thompson 6â4, 7â5 in first singles to put the Czech Republic ahead 1â0. After this, de Minaur defeated Jiri Lehecka 4-6, 7-6 (2) 7-5 and brought Australia to 1-1 level. Purcell and Ebden then defeated Adam Pavlasek and Lehecka 6-4, 7-5 in doubles.
De Minaur, the top-ranked Australian and No. 12 in the world, broke back at 3-5 down in the second set and went on to force a tiebreaker. He then broke serve at 5-5 in the final set before closing out the match with four straight points.
Lehecka, No. 31 in the world, finished his season early to be fully fit for the last eight in Malaga. Machac broke Thompson's serve once in the first set and twice in the second, including at 5-5 before closing out the match in the first singles. In the doubles, Purcell and Ebden broke serve once in each set to clinch the victory.
Earlier, Finland pulled off an upset by defeating defending champions Canada 2-1 on Tuesday and made it to the last four. The second semi-final of Davis Cup 2023 will be played on Saturday while the final will be played on Sunday.
In Thursday's quarterfinals, Novak Djokovic's Serbia faces a Great Britain team depleted by injuries, while Italy takes on the Netherlands.
Also Read: 2023 Davis Cup Finals Group Stage
The only time the Czech Republic have beaten Australia in 10 clashes was in 1975. Australia became only the second nation, after the United States, to reach 200 tie victories in the Davis Cup. Although, they have rich history to not won the competition since 2003.
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