Davis Cup: Ebden-Thompson power Australia into semi-finals with doubles win against USA’s Paul-Shelton
The Aussies defeated the American pair of Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton in straight sets in the deciding doubles battle on Thursday
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The duo of Matthew Ebden and Jordan Thompson powered Australia into the semi-finals of the 2024 Davis Cup Finals by beating USA’s Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton 6-4, 6-4 on Thursday, November 21, at Martin Carpena Arena in Malaga, Spain.
The Australian pair sealed the final-four spot for their side in the deciding doubles battle of the quarter-final tie against the USA after American Taylor Fritz tied the score 1-1 with his effort against Alex de Minaur in the second singles match following Shelton’s defeat to Thanasi Kokkinakis in the first.
Ebden-Thompson needed only 75 minutes to finish Paul-Shelton’s resistance, hitting 19 winners and four aces to take Australia over the line.
Set 1: Aussies fare better on serve
The Australian pair fared better than the Americans on serve in the first set, with Ebden and Thompson hitting three aces combined against Paul and Shelton’s zero.
The Aussies secured the first breakthrough by converting a break point on Paul’s serve in the third game, which proved vital as both teams remained unbroken for the rest of set.
The men in yellow served the set out with a hold to love, ending with superior averages of 89 percent and 56 percent on the first and second serve points against the Americans’ 67 and 50, respectively.
Interestingly, doubles specialists Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek were scheduled to take the court against Ebden and Thompson, to begin with, but were replaced by USA captain Bob Bryan:
“We had great options for doubles but I opted for the fire power of the singles players to surprise them,” Bryan said after the loss. “It was a match up decision. I decided in the 15 minutes between the singles and the doubles match. The idea was to surprise them.”
Bryan’s gamble certainly didn’t pay off.
Set 2: Shelton broken at crucial juncture
The second set saw both teams produce disciplined tennis as they remained unbroken for the first eight games.
Ebden-Thompson, however, succeeded in breaking Shelton in the ninth game to give themselves the opportunity of serving out the match.
Thompson didn’t disappoint as he sent a thundering serve that Shelton couldn’t return on match point, and the entire Australian contingent screamed in delight. The win notably improved the men in yellow’s head-to-head record against the Americans at the Davis Cup to 26-22 (advantage USA).
Australia now await the winner of the final last-eight tie between Italy and Argentina.
