Taylor Fritz Wins, Ben Shelton Loses, Team USA Out of Davis Cup

Australia clinched a 2-1 victory over the United States to advance to the Davis Cup semifinals.

Australia clinched a 2-1 victory over the United States to advance to the Davis Cup semifinals. / Amber Searls-Imagn Images

On Thursday afternoon, Team Australia secured a 2-1 victory over Team USA in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Davis Cup Finals. The day got off to an inauspicious start for the Americans.

Australian tennis star Thanasi Kokkinakis was expecting to see Tommy Paul in the first singles match. Instead, he got a surprise appearance from Ben Shelton. Kokkinakis defeated Shelton in three sets: 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(16-14).

The conclusion to an EPIC deciding tiebreak 🔥

🇦🇺 @TKokkinakis defeats 🇺🇸 Shelton 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(14) to give Australia the lead!

The next match is now a MUST WIN for Team USA. #DavisCup pic.twitter.com/FEXV2j526U

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) November 21, 2024

The score tells the story. Kokkinakis rolled over Shelton in the first set, dropped the second set, and then battled through a historic third set that will not soon be forgotten by Australian tennis fans.

From there, Taylor Fritz took the court against Alex de Minaur. Fritz defeated de Minaur a week ago today during the Group Stage of the ATP Finals in Turin, Italy.

History repeated itself as Fritz beat de Minaur in straight sets 6-3, 6-4. Fritz looked like he had not missed a beat from his incredible season. It was also the 200th hard-court win and 30th top-ten win of his career.

Ruthless from @Taylor_Fritz97 💪

He takes the second match to send us into a deciding doubles 👀#DavisCup | @usta pic.twitter.com/UnpmbPmCpF

— Davis Cup (@DavisCup) November 21, 2024

With Fritz's victory, the United States tied Australia 1-1. It all came down to the doubles match, which was not particularly competitive. Mattew Ebden and Jordan Thompson beat Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton in straight sets: 6-4, 6-4.

The highlight from today's action had to have been Shelton's surprise appearance in the first match and his marathon third set with Kokkinakis. After the match, Kokkinakis gave a revealing quote to sports journalist, Reem Abulleil.

🚨 Australia defeats Team USA in the doubles decider!

Ebden/Thompson oust Shelton/Paul 6-4, 6-4 in a strong performance. 💪#DavisCup pic.twitter.com/DxYxweljdm

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) November 21, 2024

“We didn’t think Ben was going to play. We were under the assumption Tommy was going to play. I hadn’t seen Ben in the last 2 days. I saw Tommy at breakfast, so I thought he was maybe going to play. He warmed up with Taylor earlier. It was a surprise to me,” said Kokkinakis.

Team Australia now await the winners from the last quarterfinal tie between Italy and Argentina, with the semifinals scheduled for Saturday. Tennis fans can follow Sports Illustrated's Serve on SI for all the most important news from the sport.

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