Another never-say-die performance from their No.1 Alex de Minaur has dragged Australia's tennis men back into their Davis Cup tie with France in Hamburg.
De Minaur - and captain Lleyton Hewitt's team - were staring at defeat as he found himself 4-2 and break point down in the final set to Benjamin Bonzi in the Rothenbaum Stadium on Thursday.
So, with Jason Kubler having lost the tie's opening rubber to French veteran Richard Gasquet 6-2 6-4, de Minaur had to pull out all the stops to rescue the situation with the French poised to take an unassailable 2-0 lead.
The Sydneysider, straight out of the fighting mould of his team skipper Hewitt, did just that, scrapping for every point and then holding his nerve as Bonzi began to lose his.
De Minaur eventually prevailed 6-3 1-6 6-4 to level the tie at one apiece and leave it down to Australia's Wimbledon champions Matt Ebden and Max Purcell to tackle the doubles decider against Arthur Rinderknech and Niicolas Mahut.
"Heart -that's what it is, that's what Davis Cup brings out of you," said de Minaur, as he reflected on how he got out of such a tight spot.
"Heart and passion - you'll do anything for your country. So I'm happy I got a win for my country."
As he kept failing to convert his break point opportunities early in the third set, de Minaur refused to get frustrated.
"I was trying to stay in the moment, give myself more chances. One of the big things I've been trying to work on is my mentality.
"I just kept telling myself I would give myself another chance and, hopefully, I'd take the next chance.
"I was able to do that late in the third set and I'm extremely proud of myself."
Kubler had earlier been unable to give Australia another flying Davis Cup start when he went down fighting against veteran Gasquet.
The 29-year-old debutant, who'd battled back to win his maiden Cup singles against Zizou Bergs in the 3-0 win over Belgium on Tuesday, once again showed his spirit, saving five match points before losing to the inspired 36-year-old former top-tenner.
Outplayed in the first set, Kubler hung in and, while still on the backfoot, managed to repel the match points with some dazzling tennis, including a running forehand at full pelt and outlasting Gasquet in the longest and most thrilling point of the match.
But although he even earned a couple of break points of his own in that pivotal 10th and final game of the second set, Kubler could do nothing about an ace down the T on Gasquet's sixth match point.
If Australia beat the French, who lost their opening tie to Germany 2-1 on Wednesday, they'll almost certainly book a quarter-final tie in finals week in Malaga in November.
