Davis Cup: Kokkinakis upsets debutant Shelton to give Australia lead against USA in quarter-finals
The world No 77 from Australia downed Ben Shelton in a blockbuster three-setter on Thursday
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Thanasi Kokkinakis, the world No 77, upset Ben Shelton 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (14) in the first singles match of the quarter-final tie between Australia and USA at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals on Thursday, November 21, at Martin Carpena Arena in Malaga, Spain.
Kokkinakis’ mammoth effort against world No 21 Shelton, making his Davis Cup debut, gave Australia a crucial 1-0 lead in its fight for a spot in the semi-finals.
The two players fought for two hours, 19 minutes, exchanging four breaks — out of which three went the Aussie’s way. Shelton notably committed 31 unforced errors, 15 more than his opponent to unwillingly help Australia’s cause.
The match witnessed box-office drama in the deciding set tiebreaker that saw 10 match-point saves in total.
Set 1: Kokkinakis catches Shelton off guard
Kokkinakis caught Shelton in the opening set, breaking the American thrice to dish out a breadstick.
Shelton couldn’t get going at all as he managed to win only 46 percent (6/13) of his first-serve points and 29 (2/7) on the second. On return, the 22-year-old prevailed in only four of the 16 exchanges with Kokkinakis, spraying eight unforced errors in the set.
The opener ended in just 22 minutes as Kokkinakis walked back to his bench to discuss with team captain and former world No 1 Lleyton Hewitt the strategy for the second set after the American committed a foot fault on the second serve on the set point.
Set 2: Shelton fights back
Shelton found his form and confidence in the second set, breaking Kokkinakis in the very first game.
The two then remained unbroken for the remaining games, with the American digging deep to save four break points in the sixth game and one in the 10th to draw level as he unleashed nine aces throughout.
In stats, Shelton’s numbers improved to 69 percent (20/29) on the first-serve points and 56 percent (5/9) on the second. On the return, he secured 11 of the total 30 he played against his Australian opponent.
Set 3: Kokkinakis wins the game of cat and mouse in tiebreaker
It all boiled down to a tiebreaker in the deciding set as Kokkinakis and Shelton remained unbroken in the 12 games.
Kokkinakis raced to a 4-1 lead in the tiebreaker before Shelton recovered to 4-5. The Aussie earned two match points, which the American saved. Then began a game of cat and mouse as the two players went back and forth creating and losing one match points.
After six saves from Shelton, Kokkinakis cashed in on the seventh opportunity to seal the deal, having saved four match points himself.
