Sinner completes Italian return to Davis final

Jannik Sinner put Italy into a second straight Davis Cup final on Saturday as the world No. 1 completed a 2-0 winning scoreline over Australian in Malaga.

The reigning Australian and US Open champion beat Alex de Minaur for the second time in as many weeks as he posted a 6-3, 6-4 decision.

Former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini got the Davis holders started 6-7 (6), 6-3, 7-5 over Thanasi Kokkinakis.

But Berrettini would not surrender another break in the match as he powered Italy into a 1-0 lead.

“After I lost the first set, it wasn’t easy to digest that,” the winner said.. “But I’m fighting for my country with this crowd, so I’m happy.”

The tie with the Aussies was a re-run of the 2023 final here won by Italy with Sinner playing a major role before his 2024 breakthrough onto the top rung in tennis.

“It means a lot. It was a tough encounter, playing Alex,” Sinner said.

“We know each other quite well now so I have to be very careful every time. It’s a very tough challenge for me, so I was looking forward to this one.”

Sinner gave full credit to Berrettini for paving the way to victory in the semi-final:

“Obviously it helped a lot that Matteo won the singles today. He played amazing tennis, it was very high quality. 

“Hopefully this can give us some confidence for tomorrow. It’s going to be a very difficult and tough day for us and also the Netherlands.”

Italy will play the Netherlands in the Sunday final after the Dutch defeated Germany 2-0.

Italy has completed back-to-back finals for the first time since  1980; the nation put in its best Davis showing from 1976-1980 with four consecutive finals in the worldwide team competition.

Main photo:- Matteo Berrettini celebrates victory – by ITF.com