By twice sickening Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner sent Italy to the Davis Cup final on Saturday November 25 in Malaga, where she will try to win a second title in the competition against Australia on Sunday.
A few hours after saving three match points to win in singles against the world number 1, the Italian (4th) flew over the doubles alongside his compatriot Lorenzo Sonego to offer the second point to his team, synonymous with a place in final.
Italy has only won the Davis Cup once in its history, in 1976 against Chile. She will face the Australians on Sunday, who will appear as regulars for the 49th final in their history in this competition which they have won 28 times.
However, everything seemed to be going badly for the Italians in the middle of the afternoon, when the irresistible world number 1 opened the doors to the final, then having three match points, after the initial victory of Miomir Kecmanovic (55th in the world) against Lorenzo Musetti (27th) 6-7 (9-7), 6-2, 6-1. The man with 24 Grand Slam tournaments, having a psychological advantage thanks to his victory against Sinner in the Masters final last Sunday, had the opportunity to allow Serbia to reach a third final in the competition.
But Sinner, winner in a group match against the Serb in Turin, relied on his serve (12 aces in total) to dismiss these three match points and end up winning 6-2, 2-6, 7- 5. “For me it’s a big disappointment, I take responsibility for it, obviously, having had three match points, having been so close to winning,” Novak Djokovic said after the elimination.
And Sinner’s serve hurt Serbia again in the hours that followed, as he scored the majority of Italy’s eight aces during the doubles. The duo he composed with Sonego (47th) broke away in the first set by making the break to lead 4-2 and win the first set.
The second was much more contested: the Italians quickly broke but the Serbs came back together before having four break points on the serve of Sinner, who, each time, knew how to release big first balls to avoid Djokovic and Kecmanovic did not take the lead. “Nole” also had lively exchanges with the public during this frustrating game for him, haranguing the crowd who were jeering at him in the stands.
Sinner then continued his undermining work to take the service of the Serbs, who unlike the Italians (3/5) only converted one of their six break points during the match. The aggressive play of the Italian doubles ended up getting the better of the Serbian hopes, while Djokovic had made this competition “one of his biggest objectives”, at the conclusion of an almost perfect year with three new Grand Slam titles ( Australian Open, Roland-Garros, US Open).
“I can be really proud of the way I handled the situation,” Sinner rejoiced after the doubles, referring to the match points erased during his singles against Djokovic. “We have a big chance tomorrow (Sunday), we know that but we try to stay as relaxed as possible, keep a smile in mind,” he added.
On Friday, Australia qualified for the second consecutive year in the final by beating 2-0 the surprising Finland, who defeated Canada in the quarters, holders of the trophy.
