Australia has qualified for the November Finals with an impressive final day showing at the group stage in held in Manchester.
After the first two ties against Great Britain and France, Australia needed to win all three matches in our tie against Switzerland to guarantee our place in the final eight.
An enthusiastic group of Foundation members cheered on our team of Thanasi Kokkinakis, Alex de Minaur and the doubles pairing of Max Purcell and Matt Ebden who duly obliged with scintillating performances.
First up was Thanasi Kokkinakis who defeated Switzerlands Dominic Stricker 6-3, 7-5 to get us off to a great start.
Australian No.1, De Minaur, then continued by outplaying Marc-Andrea Huesler, who was named for Switzerland ahead of three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka.
De Minaur’s 6-4, 6-3 win over Huesler sealed Australia’s second overall victory of the week following their 2-1 win over France.
Onto the doubles – with Matt Ebden and Max Purcell winning the third straight
rubber of their undefeated week, as they outclassed Stricker and Huesler 6-2 6-4.
Team Captain Lleyton Hewitt said “I’m extremely proud of the boys – the effort, the backs-against-the-wall motto of being able to fight our way out of it and see the big picture,” said Hewitt of the Australian team, which took a 1-1 record into the Saturday tie after a loss to Great Britain and victory over France earlier in the week.
“They were able to do it and they deserve it. ”
Australia finished 2nd on the table in our group behind Great Britain and qualifies for the knockout stage of the finals which get underway in Malaga on the 21st November.
