Australia ended their Davis Cup group stage campaign on a sour note, unable to sustain a brave fight from the Spaniards and quiet down a lively Valencia crowd in what could have massive title implications.
Both nations were already guaranteed progression to November's Davis Cup Finals in Malaga, so the tie was essentially a dead rubber - albeit second place is expected to face tougher opposition.
As a result, world No.3 Carlos Alcaraz decided to sit out in favour of focusing on a packed singles schedule, while top-ranked Australian Alex de Minaur has been absent for the entire group phase due to injury.
Having cracked into the top-30 for the first time, Jordan Thompson replaced the undefeated Thanasi Kokkinakis to tackle Spain’s Pablo Carreño Busta in the opening match.
The latter has recently returned from a serious elbow tendinitis issue which halted his return for nearly 18 months.
But it was Thompson who started the better of the pair, consolidating an early break to lead 3-0 and grab the first set with another service break.
However, momentum rapidly shifted towards Carreño Busta, improving his shot-making on the forehand wing and winning the longer rallies to claim four consecutive games and force the match into a sudden death set.
A commanding 5-2 advantage soon disappeared for Thompson, as the crowd began to push the Spaniard in the vicinity of a famous comeback - sending it to a third-set tiebreak.
One mini-break was all that was required for Carreño Busta to claim an impressive come-from-behind 2-6, 6-2, 7-6(3) win to give his country a 1-0 lead in the tie.
“Up 5-2, [he was] 15-30, [then I] serve for the match, and lose the match, and probably won more points than I lost,” Thompson said.
“It’s incredibly frustrating, especially when you’re doing it for Australia, but you have to give credit to him. He definitely lifted after that first set. He started serving better. He went into lockdown mode... and he turned it into a real battle. I should have put that one away.”
Bouncing back from a shock defeat against Frenchman Ugo Humbert in the first tie, world No.24 Alexei Popyrin kept Australia’s hopes alive with a 6-4, 6-4 triumph over Pedro Martínez.
The Sydneysider fended off three break points at 0-1 in the second set to charge home in convincing fashion.
“It was quite disappointing for me to kind of let the team down on the first day, but I managed to bounce back today and put one point on the board for the team,” Popyrin said.
“I think just the nerves from the first match got the better of me a little bit. Honestly, it’s a different feeling playing Davis Cup, playing for your country… but I managed that really well today, and I’m super proud of that.”
For the third time in a matter of days, 2022 Wimbledon doubles champions Matt Ebden and Max Purcell teamed up with a chance to seal top spot.
Despite having possessed a one set cushion, the Aussie duo could not finish the job as they went down 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 to Marcel Granollers and Pedro Martínez.
It means Australia place second in Group B, as they await a tougher draw in the Davis Cup Finals against either a resurgent United States or Jannik Sinner’s Italy, who defeated Lleyton Hewitt’s men in last year’s final.
“We were ecstatic a couple of nights ago when we got told Spain had won, and we were guaranteed to go through,” Hewitt said.
“We came here with one goal this week, and that was to qualify for the finals, and we were able to do that, so really proud of the boys and the effort they’ve put in.
“To try and ask players to play the second day after a grand slam finishes is not easy, and the old format, I used to have to do it, but you’d have until the Friday before you had to play. To play on Tuesday is ridiculous, so I couldn’t be prouder of my boys… and they’ve done their country proud. We’ll be ready for November.”
The Davis Cup Finals will take place in Malaga between November 19-24.
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