Australia was a set away from Davis Cup obliteration, but the team of Rinky Hijikata and Jordan Thompson kept their comeback hopes alive with a win in the doubles on Sunday.
The hosts went into day two of the Sydney tie against Belgium down 0-2, after Alex de Minaur was stunned by little-known Raphael Collignon and Thompson fell to Zizou Bergs on the opening day of singles.
But Thompson and Hijikata, after dropping the opening set of the doubles opener at Ken Rosewall Arena, fought back to claim a 6-7(7) 6-3 6-4 win over Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen, powered by a red-hot home crowd.
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It means de Minaur must beat Bergs and Thompson then must beat Collignon later today to give the Aussies the 3-2 comeback win.
Rinky Hijikata of Australia and Jordan Thompson of Australia celebrates winning set point during the Doubles match against Sander Gille of Belgium and Joran Vliegan of Belgium during the 2025 Davis Cup Qualifier second round match between Australia and Belgium at Ken Rosewall Arena on September 14, 2025 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images for ITF)Source: Getty Images
The winner of this weekend’s tie will advance into the Final 8, to be played in Italy in late November.
The Aussies were beaten semi-finalists in last year’s Davis Cup finals.