• Doubles pair Jordan Thompson and Matt Ebden seal victory
• Italy or Argentina await in semi-final

Inspired captaincy, a nail-biting underdog’s win for Thanasi Kokkinakis and good old-fashioned Australian doubles pedigree has powered Australia into the semi-finals of the Davis Cup in Spain.

Lleyton Hewitt outduelled his USA counterpart Bob Bryan in the key captaincy decisions of their quarter-final tie in Málaga on Thursday as Australia defeated the Americans 2-1 in the battle between the two nations who have won the men’s “World Cup of tennis” more than any other.