Oliver Marach and Jürgen Melzer lost the Davis Cup double against Lleyton Hewitt and John Peers in four sets. The decision between Austria and Australia must therefore be made on Sunday.
By Jens Huiber from Graz
Now the individual players have to do it for Austria’s return to the world group: Jürgen Melzer and host Oliver Marach had to face the Australian pair John Peers and Lleyton Hewitt 1:6, 2:6, 6:3 and 5:7 in Graz, leaving the two final singles on Sunday 2:1 for the hosts.
The Austrian fans had not even celebrated Thomas Muster completely, when it was already 0:5 from the point of view of the hosts. After all, Marach and Melzer could write in the first act, but after 33 minutes it was still 6:1 for Australia.
Marach took a medical time-out at the end of the sentence and was treated at the groin. No effect on the match for the time being: In the second round, Hewitt and Peers also came in early for a break, bringing it safely through the rounds.
The appointment of Lleyton Hewitt was generally expected, with John Millman taking over the vacant position of supervisor in the bank. He had travelled to Graz with a slight cold, hadn’t been used yet.
Oliver Marach and Jürgen Melzer’s reaction to the 0:2 set deficit? They switched sides. From now on Melzer played on the debut side, Marach on the advantage side. Lleyton Hewitt, already the weaker serve in the Australian pair, had to give up his 2-0 serve for Austria.
In the fifth game the Austrians fended off no less than ten break chances, at 5:3 Marach/Melzer initially missed three set points – until the only left-handed player on the court finished with a backhand volley.
In the fourth set, the serve continued until the twelfth game, for Marach and Melzer the more difficult way, they always had to follow. Then two match points for Australia at serve Jürgen Melzer. The Austrians could fend off the first, but then the Australians made their first point clear,
Who goes now on Sunday into the Bütt, is probably only on Austrian side clear. It seems unlikely that the Australians will indeed send Alex de Minaur against Dominic Thiem. John Millman would be an option now. Even if he has spent a lot of effort as a temporary captain.