Scintillating Sinner breezes past De Minaur to return Italy to Davis Cup final
The world No 1 overcame a spirited performance from De Minaur to win 6-3, 6-4 and clinch a 2-0 victory for Italy over the Australians
Jannik Sinner, Davis Cup, 2024 Vicente Vidal Fernandez/Sipa USA
Jannik Sinner put on yet another display of supreme quality to defeat Alex De Minaur 6-3, 6-4 and send Italy back into the Davis Cup final with a 2-0 victory over Australia, after Matteo Berrettini had earlier edged an epic against Thanasi Kokkinakis.
The Italians are the defending champions and look every bit as imperious as they did twelve months ago. Led by their world No 1 talisman, Italy are seeking to become only the sixth nation in Davis Cup history to retain their title – and the first since the Czech Republic in 2013.
De Minaur did what he could to stem the Italian tide with a remarkably high-quality performance of his own, but he ultimately came out second best against a player who is looking increasingly infallible – especially on the hard courts of the Palacio de Deportes in Malaga.
A high-octane encounter got off to a breathless start with both players manoeuvring each other around the court at breakneck speed.
Sinner wasted no time in getting a foothold into De Minaur’s service game, breaking the Aussie at the first time of asking to move into a 2-0 lead.
De Minaur broke straight back, but fell behind once again as the Italian broke for a second time in the sixth game before confidently serving out a one-set lead three games later.
impressive resistance from de minaur only delays the inevitable
To his great credit, the Australian held the advancing Sinner at bay for much of the second set, which remained tight throughout. But the Italian was irrepressible, relentlessly wearing down the considerable defences of his opponent with consistent depth, power and jaw-dropping all-court coverage.
In the ninth game of the stanza, that defence was finally punctured. Sinner broke to earn a golden opportunity to send his country back into the final of the Davis Cup with a single hold of serve.
And the world No 1 duly obliged. Sealing victory on his first match point as a return went wide from De Minaur, Sinner’s Italy booked their place in a second consecutive Davis Cup final.
“It means a lot,” Sinner told his on-court interviewer.
“It was a tough encounter playing Alex. We know each other well. I have to be careful every time. I was looking forward to this one. It helped that Matteo won the singles today. He played amazing tennis.
“Hopefully this gives us confidence for tomorrow. It’s going to be a difficult and tough day for us, but also for Netherlands. We’ll just try to do our best and see what’s coming.
“There’s a lot of pressure. It’s a bit different because you have this good weight of the whole country on your shoulders. This is exactly what I practise for. These are moments I like to play in.
“It’s been a long season. At the end, it’s going to be the last official day for us. We’re very happy it’s the final of Davis cup.”
imperious italy showing why they are world’s best
This tie was a repeat of last year’s final, with Australia having reached the showpiece in both of the past two years.
The Aussies are Davis Cup stalwarts, and the second-most successful nation at this prestigious event after the USA. They have a fine crop of players and a wonderful team dynamic, yet they simply came up against unstoppable opposition today.
Italy are resplendent in every area. From the dominance of Sinner, to a world-leading doubles team and a plethora of talent not even present in Malaga this year, they are tennis’ leading nation – without a doubt.
They will face an impressive but somewhat novice Netherlands team in the final, with the Dutch making their maiden appearance in the tournament’s showpiece tie.
Yet, they should provide another stern test for the Italians and have the added motivation of ensuring doubles specialist Wesley Koolhof’s career ends on a high, with the Dutchman set to retire at the close of this season.
But it will be a tall order. Both Sinner and Italy have laid down another statement of intent today, brushing aside a powerhouse tennis nation to put themselves in pole position to secure a second straight Davis Cup title.
After the success of the women’s team in the Billie Jean King Cup this year, it would appear that we are living in the age of Italian dominance as this once more peripheral tennis nation have fully established themselves as the kings and queens of this sport.
The only question is just to what extent this extraordinary generation will come to dominate the international tennis landscape in the years to come.
The early signs are looking ominous.
