Leon Smith hailed a “very good day” for Great Britain after wins for debutant Jack Draper and Dan Evans in Manchester secured victory over Australia.
Draper’s run to the fourth spherical of the US Open earned him not only a second Great Britain call-up however a primary look, with Smith selecting him forward of his top-ranked participant Cameron Norrie and former world primary Andy Murray for the opening tie of the group stage.
The 21-year-old absolutely justified his captain’s religion, thrilling a 9,000-strong crowd on the AO Arena by breaking Kokkinakis when he served for the match then coming from 4-2 down within the deciding tie-break to win 6-7 (6) 6-3 7-6 (4) after two hours and 52 minutes.
Evans then took to the courtroom in opposition to world quantity 12 Alex De Minaur, the highest-ranked participant within the four-team group.
Evans has struggled for lengthy durations this season however discovered his type on the North American laborious courts with a title in Washington and a powerful efficiency in opposition to Carlos Alcaraz on the US Open.
And he prolonged his tour-level profitable document in opposition to De Minaur to 3-0 with a 6-1 2-6 6-4 victory, staying sturdy after the Australian fought again from 4-1 within the decider.
That gave Britain an unassailable lead, with a top-two spot within the group wanted to safe progress to the quarter-finals and matches in opposition to Switzerland and France nonetheless to return this week.
“It’s a really good day for us,” stated Smith. “Extremely difficult Aussie team but we’re difficult too. Jack showed again what he’s capable of, both in quality but also the heart and competitiveness he’s got. To steal it at the end when Kokkinakis served for it shows a lot of character. It’s a really good win for him.
“I said to Dan I think it’s one of the best matches I’ve seen him play, I thought he was absolutely brilliant against one of the in-form players on the tour. I just think Dan was amazing but it doesn’t surprise me.”
Access limitless streaming of films and TV exhibits with Amazon Prime Video
Sign up now for a 30-day free trial
Sign up
Access limitless streaming of films and TV exhibits with Amazon Prime Video
Sign up now for a 30-day free trial
Sign up
Australia prevented a clear sweep, with former Wimbledon champions Matt Ebden and Max Purcell defeating Evans and Neal Skupski 7-6 (5) 6-4 within the doubles rubber to make the ultimate rating 2-1.
For most of his lengthy tenure, Smith’s staff, based mostly round Murray, nearly picked itself. Greater choices have left him with tougher choices and he was criticised for his choice on the similar stage final yr, when Britain made an early exit.
There can have been nice satisfaction for the Scot, subsequently, within the efficiency of Draper, who has been stored off courtroom for a lot of the season by a string of irritating accidents however carried the arrogance of his run in New York into this conflict in opposition to one other 6ft 4in heavyweight in Kokkinakis.
It was a match of some essential moments, with Draper lacking a set level at 4-5 within the opening set after which unable to make the most of momentum at first of the decider. He seemed in large hassle when he dropped serve at 4-4 earlier than staging a rousing comeback.
Of his choice, Draper stated: “Leon told me a couple of days ago. He said he wanted me to be out there and that he believed in me.
“I knew I’d played some tough matches at the US Open and I felt really good about my tennis. That helped the nerves a lot. I haven’t played too many great matches this season but I think that was one of them.
Evans admitted to nerves, too, but was proud of his performance, saying: “It means a lot. I played good tennis, I executed what we spoke about and I did it to pretty much as good as I’ve got. It was still a battle, no part of the match was easy, and that was for me the impressive thing that I pulled through.”
Australia, who made the ultimate of the competitors final yr, should bounce again rapidly for a must-win conflict in opposition to France on Thursday, when the gang is prone to be a fraction of what it was for this tie.
Captain and former world primary Lleyton Hewitt is a long-standing critic of the transfer away from the standard home-and-away format, and he stated: “We’ve just taken the great things away from what made this competition so special. It doesn’t feel the same.”
