Australia has advanced to the Davis Cup semifinals for the third year in a row. The Australians eliminated the United States 2-1 on Thursday when Matt Ebden and Jordan Thompson beat Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul 6-4,

Shelton, the world No. 21, had earlier come out on the wrong side of 30-point tiebreak against world No. 78 Thanasi Kokkinakis, falling to a 1-6, 6-4, 6-7 (14) defeat. Taylor Fritz, America’s top-ranked singles player and this year’s U.S. Open finalist, beat Alex De Minaur 6-3, 6-4 to force the deciding rubber.

Australia set up a Davis Cup semi-final clash with defending champions Italy as doubles pair Matthew Ebden and Jordan Thompson sealed victory against the United States on Thursday. Olympic champion Ebden and Thompson beat surprise pairing Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton 6-4 6-4 to put Lleyton Hewitt's side into their third successive semi-final of the men's team event.