Australia are favourites to reach their second consecutive Davis Cup final after defeating Czechia via an Alex de Minaur fightback in the quarter-finals in Malaga on Thursday morning (AEDT).
A 2-1 victory against Czechia sees Lleyton Hewitt's side into the semi-finals, where they will meet Finland at 2am (AEDT) on Saturday.
The Finnish stunned defending champion Canada in their quarter-final with the Maple Leafs significantly weakened by the injury absence of Felix Auger-Aliassime.
MORE: Davis Cup 2023 teams: Every player from the eight nations competing
However, it wasn't plain sailing for Australia into the last four after they were forced to come from behind against Czechia.
Jordan Thompson was defeated in straight sets by Tomas Machac 6-4 7-5, leaving no margin for error in the remaining singles and doubles matches.
De Minaur looked in trouble in his singles match versus Jiri Lehecka, with the Aussie no.1 a set and a break down in the second.
Lehecka served for the match at 5-3 and held a 30-0 lead in that service game before De Minaur broke back and won the second in a tiebreaker.
The Australian then steadied in the third set, with both players exchanging breaks before De Minaur broke Lehecka's serve in the 11th game to win 4-6 7-6(2) 7-5.
It was then up to champion doubles duo Matt Ebden and Max Purcell to close out the tie with a 6-4 7-5 win against Lehecka and Adam Pavlasek.
Australia will now meet Finland in the semi-finals, with an injury cloud hanging over Finnish no.1 and world no.69 Emil Ruusuvuori.
Finland were able to defeat Canada without the injured Ruusuvuori, whose last match on November 11 ended in a walkover at the Tali Open.
Despite Ruusuvuori's absence, Finland were able to eliminate an Auger-Aliassime-less Canada with Otta Virtanen (ranked 171) and Patrick Kaukovalta (ranked 715) as their singles duo.
Davis Cup 2023 schedule, scores and results
Final Eight
| Date/Time (local - CET) | Match/Result |
| Tues Nov 21, 4:00pm | Canada 1-2 Finland |
| Wed Nov 22, 4:00pm | Czechia 1-2 Australia |
| Thu Nov 23, 10:00am | Italy vs. Netherlands |
| Thu Nov 23, 4:00pm | Serbia vs. Great Britain |
Canada 1-2 Finland - Tues Nov 21
- Milos Raonic (CAN) def. Patrick Kaukovalta (FIN) 6-3 7-5
- Otto Virtanen (FIN) def. Gabriel Diallo (CAN) 6-4 7-5
- Virtanen/Heliovaara (FIN) def. Pospisil/Galarneau 7-5 6-3
Czechia 1-2 Australia - Wed Nov 22
- Tomas Machac (CZE) def. Jordan Thompson (AUS) 6-4 7-5
- Alex de Minaur (AUS) def. Jiri Lehecka (CZE) 4-6 7-6(2) 7-5
- Ebden/Purcell (AUS) def. Lehecka/Pavlasek 6-4 7-5
Italy vs. Netherlands - Thu Nov 23
| Timezone | Local | ET | GMT | AEDT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | 10:00am | 4:00am | 9:00pm | 8:00pm |
Serbia vs. Great Britain - Thu Nov 23
| Timezone | Local | ET | GMT | AEDT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | 4:00pm | 10:00am | 3:00pm | 2:00am (+1 day) |
Semi Finals
| Date/Time (local - CET) | Match/Result |
|---|---|
| Fri Nov 24, 4:00pm | Finland vs. Australia |
| Sat Nov 25, 12:00pm | Italy/Netherlands vs. Serbia/Great Britain |
Finland vs. Australia - Fri Nov 24
| Timezone | Local | ET | GMT | AEDT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | 4:00pm | 10:00am | 3:00pm | 2:00am (+1 day) |
Italy/Netherlands vs. Serbia/Great Britain - Sat Nov 25
| Timezone | Local | ET | GMT | AEDT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | 12:00pm | 8:00am | 11:00am | 10:00pm |
Final
| Date/Time (local - CET) | Match/Result |
|---|---|
| Sun Nov 26, 4:00pm | Semi Final 1 vs. Semi Final 2 |
Semi Final 1 vs. Semi Final 2 - Sun Nov 26
| Timezone | Local | ET | GMT | AEDT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | 4:00pm | 10:00am | 3:00pm | 2:00am (+1 day) |
