Australia crashes out of Davis Cup as Ecuador claims stunning boilover
Updated . First published at
In a stunning upset, Australia has been bundled out of the Davis Cup qualifying round following a lacklustre performance against Ecuador in the high altitude of Quito.
Australia's 3-0 collapse marks the lowest point of Lleyton Hewitt's decade-long captaincy and represents a sharp fall from grace for a side that reached consecutive finals in 2023 and 2024, as well as the semi-finals just last year.
With world No.6 Alex de Minaur and Alexei Popyrin both missing the trip to South America, the Australian team was led by Rinky Hijikata and James Duckworth, alongside Aleksandar Vukic, Jordan Thompson and Jason Kubler.
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The Ecuadorian players erupt in celebration after dumping Australia out of the Davis Cup in a stunning upset. @DavisCup via X
Despite not having a single player in the world's top 200, the 37th-ranked Ecuadorians thumped an Australian contingent that boasts 13 players ranked higher than the hosts' No.1, Alvaro Guillen Meza.
The tone was set during the opening singles rubbers, where world No.201 Guillen Meza swept past Hijikata 6-4, 6-1, 6-4, before world No.257 Andres Andrade stunned Duckworth, fighting back from a set down to win 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.
Ecuador claimed the decisive victory in the doubles as Gonzalo Escobar and Diego Hidalgo beat Hijikata and Thompson 7-6(5), 6-4.
The result triggered crazy scenes, with players and fans alike revelling in the boilover against the 28-time champions. Escobar and Hidalgo even rolled around in the clay to soak in the moment.
Ecuador celebrates a historic Davis Cup boilover. Twitter
While Kubler salvaged some pride by defeating Emilio Camacho 6-4, 6-2 in a later rubber, it was a mere consolation.
The defeat stands in stark contrast to the nations' only previous encounter in 2001, when Hewitt spearheaded a star-studded squad alongside Pat Rafter.
This time, however, the Australians clearly missed de Minaur, who withdrew from a tie for the first time since his 2018 debut to prioritise recovery following the Australian Open.
Ecuador will look to continue their giant-killing exploits in the next round with a trip to Great Britain.
Meanwhile, the United States and France both cruised to victory in Hungary to secure their progress. Elsewhere, Belgium, the Czech Republic and India all advanced to reach round two.
