Great Britain vs Australia Preview & Prediction | 2023 Davis Cup Finals | Group Stage
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THE FACTS
When is Great Britain vs Australia on and what time does it start? Great Britain vs Australia will take place on Wednesday 13th September, 2023 – not before 13:00 (UK)
Where is Great Britain vs Australia taking place? Great Britain vs Australia will take place at AO Arena in Manchester, UK
What surface is Great Britain vs Australia being played on? Great Britain vs Australia will take place on an indoor hard court / indoor clay court
Where can I get tickets for Great Britain vs Australia? Visit this link for the latest ticket information for Great Britain vs Australia
Where can I watch Great Britain vs Australia? All matches can be watched on Tennis Channel International’s Pay TV, while all Great Britain matches will be televised and streamed on BBC platforms
THE PREDICTION
This promises to be a thrilling day of tennis between two Davis Cup greats in Australia, who have the second-most titles (28) behind the USA’s record of 32, and Great Britain who are third on the all-time list some way back with 10. Hosts Great Britain look set to break attendance records for a Davis Cup match on home soil this week at the 13,500 capacity AO Arena in Manchester and home advantage should play a huge part in this tie – with the tourists’ set to thrive under the pressure of this historic sporting rivalry.
World number 12 Alex de Minaur leads the Aussie line as the highest-ranked player here, coming into the Davis Cup at a career-high after winning his most prestigious ATP title at the Acapulco 500 earlier this season and more recently reaching a first Masters final in Toronto. A run to the round of 16 at the US Open saw some huge performances before he fell in four sets to eventual runner-up Daniil Medvedev and he looks set to win all three of his singles matches in a very competitive Group B if he manages to maintain that level. 25-year-old Max Purcell also brings a career-high ATP world ranking to Manchester, reaching 43rd late last month after making the quarter-finals of a Masters event for the first time in Cincinnati with huge victories over Stan Wawrinka and Casper Ruud before a tight loss to Carlos Alcaraz.
World number 55 Jordan Thompson also returned to form this summer to look an excellent back-up option and the Aussies have three Grand Slam doubles champions in amongst their number in 2022 Australian Open champion Thanasi Kokkinakis and 2022 Wimbledon champions Purcell and Matthew Ebden.
World number 17 Cam Norrie added the Rio 500 to his career total of five ATP titles earlier this year but the Brit has laboured through a tough summer, seemingly losing confidence of focus from the game that used to frustrate any player he came across. A straight-sets defeat to Matteo Arnaldi in the third round of the US Open last time out was symptomatic of a four-match losing streak he had brought into the tournament and his last victory over a player ranked inside the top 30 came six months ago at Indian Wells. Second option Dan Evans recently set a career-high ATP world ranking of 21st after winning the Washington Open with some near-perfect tennis and he impressed in a run to the third round of the US Open before a four-set defeat in a hugely entertaining clash with defending champion.
Evans was part of the team that won the 2015 Davis Cup title, claimed from Belgium in five sets by Andy Murray’s excellence, but the former number one comes in as third option this year after struggling to break back inside the top 40 for long this summer. 36-year-old Murray will likely be utilised in the doubles alongside world number three Neal Skupski this week, taking the pressure off of Evans to ply both trades, and that pairing could be Great Britain’s biggest trump card this week backed by raucous support in Manchester. 21-year-old Jack Draper is currently ranked at 106th but the Brit proved once again that he is a future top 10 star with a run to the round of 16 at the US Open last time out – handing Great Britain perhaps the most stacked set of singles options in the entire competition.
De Minaur recently beat Norrie pretty handily at the Canada Masters to take a 2-1 lead in their head-to-head but Norrie claimed their international clash, in Australia, at the United Cup back in January to throw some huge doubt over the second match of the day. In-form Max Purcell has the right game to thrive indoors but Dan Evans is likely to look supercharged under a partisan atmosphere at the AO Arena to edge through their second option opener. That makes for a hugely enticing doubles clash between, most likely, Australia’s Purcell and Ebden and Great Britain’s Skupski and Murray. Back Great Britain to edge this tie outright, with the AO Arena set to be the difference maker here.
