Australia savours qualification for the Davis Cup semi-finals: "It was still a big challenge".

After a fiercely contested quarter-final, Australia has earned its place in the last four of the Davis Cup.

It was the Matthew Ebden/Jordan Thompson pairing that enabled the Oceanian nation to qualify at the expense of the United States in the decisive doubles match.

Moments after their victory, the main players expressed their delight: "The last-minute American change disrupted the way we prepared for the match.

We were expecting a different pair," admits Matthew Ebden. "We knew they had incredible players who could do the double.

We were ready, even if we had to make a few adjustments. It was still a big challenge though. I enjoyed playing with Jordan.

Unfortunately, Alex (De Minaur) was beaten, but it was still an incredible day."

Australian captain Lleyton Hewitt was equally delighted with his players' victory: "We've made history many times over in this competition.

The players know the prestigious players who have represented Australia in the past," says the former world number 1.

"We've tried to build a group of players who have been performing for three or four years now. I'm really proud of the team. It's never easy to win two out of three Davis Cup matches."

In the semi-finals, Australia will face the winner of the final match of the day between world number 1 Jannik Sinner's Italy and Argentina.