Olympic champions John Peers and Matt Ebden secured a crucial Davis Cup victory for Australia against Sweden, earning a rare home tie in September.
Olympic champions John Peers and Matt Ebden reunited to secure a resounding Davis Cup victory in Sweden , marking a rare home tie for the Australian team. With a 2-0 lead from the opening day singles in Stockholm, the seasoned veterans partnered up on Saturday for the first time since their triumph in Paris, clinching the tie with a decisive doubles win.
Competing together only for the second time in Davis Cup, the Perth neighbors and longtime friends displayed remarkable resilience, overcoming a set deficit to defeat the Swedish duo of Filip Bergevi and Andre Goransson 6-7 (7-9) 6-3 6-2. The final score was 3-1, with Peers later losing a consolation singles match against Leo Borg 7-5 6-4. This victory sent last year's semi-finalists into September's second qualifying round, where they will face either Belgium or Chile at a venue in Australia. The last Davis Cup tie to be held in Australia was three years ago when Hewitt's team defeated Hungary in Sydney. The opportunity to play in front of home fans again in a battle to secure a spot in November's 'Final 8' week in Bologna, Italy, filled the team with excitement. 'Belgium and Chile are both incredibly tough teams, so we'll be watching that tie closely. But the most important thing is that we all fought as a team to secure a home tie in September,' said Ebden. 'It'll be our first home tie in Australia in at least three years - so this one was for the team and to bring a home tie back home.'Following comfortable straight-sets victories by Alex de Minaur and Aleksandar Vukic on Friday, the hosts faced an uphill battle, even with a full house at Stockholm's Royal Tennis Hall. The combination of 37-year-old Ebden, a former world No.1 doubles player, and 36-year-old Peers, once ranked world No.2, needed to find their rhythm to overcome the two 30-year-old Swedes. Goransson, a surprise semi-finalist in the recent Australian Open doubles, and Bergevi earned the only break point of the first set, which the Australians successfully defended, before taking a tight breaker on their third set point. This spurred the veteran Australian partnership to elevate their game, immediately securing the first break of the match on Bergevi's serve at the start of the second set and ultimately dominating by breaking both Swedes' serve in the decider. 'Every match here has been a battle, but we just kept fighting,' said Peers, acknowledging the enthusiastic group of Australian fans - the Dundees - for their unwavering support throughout the tournament. In a gesture of sportsmanship, Peers, a recent Australian Open mixed doubles winner, volunteered to play his first ever Davis Cup singles to provide some entertainment for the disheartened home crowd. This selfless act spared specialists de Minaur, Vukic, and Thanasi Kokkinakis from further exertion after their recent Australian Open campaigns. For a man who hadn't played a tour-level singles for a decade, Peers performed admirably against Bjorn Borg's son before conceding in just over an hour
DAVIS CUP AUSTRALIA SWEDEN JOHN PEERS MATT EBDEN TENNIS HOME TIE QUALIFYING ROUND
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