Australia have qualified for the quarter-finals of the Davis Cup after claiming a resounding 4-1 win against the Czech Republic in their World Group play-off at Kooyong.
The Aussies grabbed an unassailable 3-0 lead – without dropping a set – after Nick Kyrgios and Jordan Thompson won their opening singles rubbers and John Peers and Sam Groth combined to claim the doubles on Saturday.
Groth, who stepped in for Kyrgios in the reverse singles, was beaten by Jiri Vesely in three sets, with Thompson notching his second victory of the weekend with a 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 triumph over Jan Satral.
The result means Australia will play the USA in the last eight after they overcame an undermanned Swiss team on home soil.
Australia will have home-court advantage for the tie, with Brisbane mooted as the likely venue for the meeting which will run from 7-9 April.
“It’s a tough ask. We lost to them in a pretty tight battle a year ago,” said Australia’s Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt after the match-up was confirmed.
“They’re a tough team, they’re gonna be really strong, they’ve got four very good singles players and they can mix and match their doubles pairings as well.
“It’s not long between ties, which is probably good, because all our boys are playing reasonably well at the moment.
“I was pretty proud of the boys how they went out there and took it on. The preparation, the hard work, the hours they put in, they deserved to go out there and get that result this weekend.
“But that’s just a stepping stone now. It gets tougher each match and we know we’re gona have our work cut out in the next round.”
In the other World Group quarter-finals Belgium will host Italy, (with the winner to play the victor from Australia’s tie in the semi-finals) France will entertain Great Britain and Serbia will welcome Spain.