Davis Cup: Sinner gives Italy its first title in 47 years

Published in: 26/11/2023 – 21:03

1 minutes

Sinner, ranked fourth in the world, achieved victory in the second singles match, after his compatriot Matteo Arnaldi defeated the other Australian Alexei Popyrin 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 in the opening match.

Sinner, who defeated the highest-ranked Serbian star Novak Djokovic twice in one day on Saturday when Italy eliminated Serbia, secured a second title for his country at the expense of an Australian team led by Lleyton Hewitt, who has won the tournament title 28 times in 49 finals in its history.

In the semi-finals, Sinner became the first player to defeat Djokovic in a singles match in the Davis Cup since Argentine Juan Martin del Potro in 2011, ending for the Serbian a series of 21 matches without defeat.

The Italian weakened the spirits of the impulsive De Minaur with a strong performance, and defeated him with fierce blows.

Sinner had previously won each of the previous five confrontations between the duo, and the Australian, ranked 12th in the world, was unable to come close to winning even this time, losing in less than 90 minutes.

Therefore, Australia must continue its wait to win this title, which it won for the last time in 2003, and content itself with watching Italy, which last reached the final in 1998, celebrate wildly when De Minaur played the ball out of the field to end the confrontation.

© 2023 AFP