Ben Shelton was beaten by an incredibly inspired Thanasi Kokkinakis at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals.
The 2024 Davis Cup Finals started with a very emotional tie. Rafael Nadal retired from the sport after Spain lost to the Netherlands. It was the first tie of the tournament, which was held already on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, there was only one tie held, and it was the other quarter-final tie in the bottom part of the draw, with Germany outplaying Canada for the other semi-final spot.
The reason why there was only one tie held was simple, and it was because, in the evening, the final of the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup Finals was played in Malaga, with Italy prevailing over Slovakia.
On Thursday, two ties are planned, with the first one being between the United States and Australia. It is a historic battle between two most successful nations in the competition.
The United States won the event 32 times and they were runners-up 29 times, while Australia triumphed 28 times, coming second on 21 occasions. However, it's been long time since either of these two won the competition, as USA's last win came in 2007 and Australia's in 2003.
Both are determined to change that this year, and the first match of the tie was played between Ben Shelton and Thanasi Kokkinakis, who came to the event on a winning streak.
The Australian player previously played in an ATP Challenger tournament in Sydney, which he won without losing a set on his way to the title. Shelton, on the other hand, played the Swiss Indoors final and lost in the second round of the Paris Masters before traveling to Malaga.
Early in this match, it was clear which player was in a better form. Shelton won the opening game of the set after holding his serve to love, but that was the last game of the set that he was able to win.
Kokkinakis went on a crazy run after that. The Australian player won six games in a row while hitting seven winners and committing only one unforced error. His serve greatly helped him as he won 90% of points after his first serve, and in only 22 minutes of play, he won the opening set 6-1
But there is a reason why Shelton is the higher-ranked of these two players, and he showed it in the second set. The American player started with a break of serve, which might be everything needed to win a set for someone who can serve like he does.
However, he still had to face plenty of troubles throughout the set. When leading 3-2, Shelton faced a total of four break points, but he was able to save them all.
When serving for the set at 5-4, the American player had to face yet another break point, and he did it again, winning the second set of the match 6-4 to force the decider.
In the third set, both players showcased their serving capabilities. Although Shelton had three break points and Kokkinakis had one, both held all of their serves, while hitting eleven aces each.
Therefore, the set had to be decided in a tie-break, which the Australian player started better. He earned the first mini-break, leading 5-3 after eight points played.
But that's when Shelton broke back, trailing 4-5 with two serves to follow. Since the American player had already lost his first serve, he had to face two consecutive match points, but he saved both.
Kokkinakis then worked his way to a few more match points, leading 7-6, 9-8, 11-10, 13-12, and 14-13 with a chance to close out the match. Shelton also had chances at 8-7, 10-9, 12-11, and 14-13, and with both serving great, the tie-break proved to be a real marathon.
It was an incredible tie-break, worthy of such match, and ultimately, Kokkinakis was able to win it 16-14, sealing the first point for Australia and heavily celebrating his triumph, 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(14). Up next is the other singles match between Australia's Alex de Minaur and Taylor Fritz, representing the US.