Australia win sets up GB-France Davis Cup decider

Australia last won the Davis Cup in 2003 when their side included current captain Lleyton Hewitt (left)

Great Britain will qualify for the Final Eight of the Davis Cup if they beat France in Manchester on Sunday.

However, Australia's Thanasi Kokkinakis and Alex de Minaur gained singles victories over Dominic Stricker and Marc-Andrea Huesler respectively.

Kokkinakis beat Stricker 6-3 7-5 before De Minaur triumphed 6-4 6-3 against Huesler.

The Australian team, runners-up in 2022, will qualify for the Final Eight if they win the last match on Saturday at AO Arena in Manchester when Australians Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell take on Huesler and Stricker in doubles.

Smith's Great Britain beat Australia 2-1 on Wednesday and Switzerland 2-1 on Friday, and face France in their final Group B match on Sunday, with a crowd of more than 13,000 expected.

"It's a massive match. It will go down to the wire - we need a full house and a lot of noise," said Smith.

If Britain beat France they will qualify for the Final Eight, which will take place in Malaga, Spain between 21-26 November.

However, a loss could see Britain, who last won the Davis Cup in 2015, miss out on the knockout stages of the tournament.

The Great Britain versus France match will be shown live on the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website from 13:00 BST on Sunday.

Holders Canada book Final Eight spot

Elsewhere in the Davis Cup on Saturday, Canada - top of Group A with two wins from two - secured their place in the Final Eight as Alexis Galarneau won the opening singles match with a 6-3 7-6 (7-5) triumph over Alejandro Tabilo of Chile.

In Group C, the Czech Republic secured top spot with their third victory as they beat already-qualified Serbia in Valencia, Spain.

Eighteen-year-old Jakub Mensik beat Dusan Lusovic 6-3 6-2 and Jiri Lehecka won 7-6 (9-7) 7-5 against Laslo Djere of Serbia, who did not use Novak Djokovic on Saturday after he gained a vital singles win on Friday in his first match since winning the US Open.

The United States and Finland have both won one and lost one of their Group D matches, and the winner of that tie, staged in Croatia, will qualify.

Finland took a dramatic opener as Otto Virtanen saved two match points in his 7-6 (7-5) 1-6 7-6 (9-7) victory over Mackenzie McDonald.

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