Australia’s Davis Cup campaign came to a stuttering halt on Sunday as they were stunned by Ecuador in the first round of qualifying.
On Saturday, world number 195 Alvaro Guillen Meza stunned Rinky Hijikata in straight sets to give the Ecuadorian team a surprising 1-0 lead.
Andres Andrade, the world number 274, produced an even bigger shock shortly afterwards, defeating James Duckworth – the ATP’s 88th highest-ranked player.
On Thursday, Ecuador completed the stunning upset: Gonzalo Escobar and Diego Hidalgo defeated Jordan Thompson and Rinky Hijikata in straight sets, 7-6, 6-4.
Alex de Minaur will surely watching on, most likely regretting his decision to forgo the qualifying round in favour of an ATP Tour event.
Alex de Minaur’s decision to forgo the Davis Cup has backfired
Earlier this year, Alex de Minaur revealed he would miss Australia’s Davis Cup tie against Ecuador to avoid the chances of picking up an injury.
Of course, this is completely understandable reason for his absence. However, his decision to forgo the tie now appears to have been a costly error.
Australia, who were also without Alexei Popyrin, were one of the favourites to win the Davis Cup this year. Now they have suffered one of the biggest upsets in Davis Cup history.
While de Minaur’s injury argument was completely valid, he always had the option to forgo the Rotterdam Open in favour of the Davis Cup.
If Australia had de Minaur available, the chances of an upset occurring would have decreased dramatically.
Australia’s loss – coupled with the absences of de Minaur and Popyrin – proves that no country is safe from an upset in the Davis Cup.
Which other countries have advanced at the Davis Cup?
With Ecuador’s victory, the entire Davis Cup first qualifying round is complete.
Alongside Ecuador, Chile, India, Germany, Croatia, Great Britain, Belgium, Austria, South Korea, the USA, Czechia, France and Canada have also advanced to the second qualifying stage.
Ecuador will now face Great Britain in the second round, following their stunning victory against Australia.
The second round of qualifying will take place between September 18 and 20.