Spain’s win over France in Valencia has ensured Australia will qualify for the Davis Cup final in November. Australia and Spain face off on Sunday, with the winner topping Group B.
VALENCIA, SPAIN, 14 SEPTEMBER 2024 | Ian Chadband (AAP)
Australia’s Davis Cup team was able to celebrate reaching the Davis Cup final without hitting a ball on Friday.
Lleyton Hewitt’s side were delighted to have qualified for the eight-team clash in November after the break and their place was guaranteed by Spain’s win over France in Valencia in Group B.
Australia secured their place with a 2-1 win over France and a 3-0 win over the Czech Republic earlier this week.
> Read more: Australia beats Czech Republic 3-0
> Read more: Australia’s thrilling win over France
And that means captain Hewitt will be sweating no more when his team faces a Carlos Alcaraz-inspired home side in their final group game on Sunday in front of a partisan Spanish crowd.
Instead, Australia could be looking to make the final by improving on their Davis Cup runners-up finishes of the past two years, when they lost to Canada in the 2022 final and to Italy last year.
Australia have won the tournament 28 times since Hewitt played for the team that beat Spain in the 2003 final in Melbourne.
Spain followed up their win over the Czech Republic with another win to qualify for the week-long final at home in Malaga in November.
| 2024 Davis Cup Finals Group B rankings |
|||
| nation | Tie win | Failed to tie | Matches WL |
| australia | 2 | 0 | 5-1 |
| Spain | 2 | 0 | 5-1 |
| france | 0 | 2 | 2-4 |
| Czech Republic | 0 | 2 | 0-6 |
Spain owe their victory to the tenacity of veteran Roberto Bautista Agut, who came from the brink of defeat to secure a 2-6 7-5 6-3 victory over Arthur Fils in the first game.
Roland Garros and Wimbledon champion Alcaraz was in fine form as he defeated a fine Hugo Humbert 6-3 6-3 on the indoor hard court to secure a 2-1 win, and he showed everyone how much this match meant to him by roaring with joy after the match.
In the absence of Alex de Minaur, it remains to be seen whether Australian No. 1 Alexei Popyrin will face Alcaraz in the blockbuster final day match in Valencia. The world No. 3 has hinted that he might not play on Sunday, which will determine the group leader.
“We’ve both qualified. Let’s see – tomorrow is a day off and I have to talk to (captain) David (Ferrer) about Sunday. We’ll see who plays,” Alcaraz shrugged.
“The main objective has been achieved and there is a good chance that another player who has not played yet will be available on Sunday. It is David’s decision but we will enjoy these few days.”
As we enter the final weekend of qualifying, four teams (Australia, Spain, USA and Germany) have already secured their places in the quarter-finals of Malaga.
