Australia's Davis Cup campaign ended in heartbreak on Sunday as Belgium secured a 3-2 victory in Sydney, despite a valiant fightback from the home side. The tie, which saw Australia trail 2-0 after the first day, came down to a deciding rubber where Aleksandar Vukic fell to Raphael Collignon 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 6-3.
Collignon, ranked 91st in the world, spent nearly five and a half hours on court over the weekend to seal Belgium's win. He had earlier defeated Alex de Minaur on Saturday, but de Minaur redeemed himself on Sunday with a 6-2 7-5 victory over Zizou Bergs to level the tie at 2-2.
Earlier, Jordan Thompson and debutant Rinky Hijikata kept Australia alive with a tense doubles win over Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen, 7-6 (9-7) 6-3 6-4. The pair saved four break points in the second set before breaking the Belgians to take control.
Captain Lleyton Hewitt made bold selection calls, resting Thompson after his marathon doubles effort and thrusting Vukic into the decider. Vukic took the first set but could not maintain his level as Collignon's relentless play wore him down.
Belgium now advances to the Final 8 in Italy in November, while Australia misses the quarter-finals for the first time since 2021. The team had been aiming to become only the third Australian side to overturn a 2-0 deficit, a feat achieved by Hewitt's 2015 team and the 1939 squad.
