Sinner the hero as Italy come from behind to beat Serbia and reach Davis Cup final

Jannik Sinner was the hero for Italy as he beat world No 1 Novak Djokovic twice, in singles and doubles, to give his country a 2-1 win over Serbia in the Davis Cup semi-finals in Malaga on Saturday.

Miomir Kecmanovic had put Serbia in front with a 6-7 (7), 6-2, 6-1 victory over an ailing Lorenzo Musetti but Sinner levelled by beating Djokovic 6-2, 2-6, 7-5, saving three match points in the process.

And the world No 4 then teamed with Lorenzo Sonego to beat Djokovic and Kecmanovic 6-3, 6-4 and send Italy through to the final for the first time since 1998. They will play Australia for the title on Sunday.

“We just tried to push in every single point,” an elated Sinner said, singling out the two gamea when he held from 0-40, first in singles and then in the doubles.

“Obviously it helped, this 0-40 game, for the confidence, and after I broke (Djokovic, in the singles), and then playing doubles in the deciding match in the semis is not easy. It’s a lot of pressure and I think we handled it very well.”

Sinner and Sonego clinch famous win

Sinner’s win over Djokovic ended the Serb’s 21-match winning streak in Davis Cup singles matches, dating back to the 2011 semis. Down 5-4, 0-40 in the third, he saved three straight match points, broke Djokovic and then served out for victory.

And in the doubles, Sinner again held from 0-40, this time at 2-3 in the second set, a game that lasted 12 minutes and saw Djokovic conducting the crowd, responding to their cheers for Italy.

But the Italians then broke Kecmanovic in the following game to go up 4-3, Sonego finishing it off with a fine smash.

The two sides held serve to leave Sinner serving for the match and again he had to fight, saving a break point with a smash winner and then clinching victory when Djokovic netted a return.

“There were a lot of emotional moments,” Sonego said. “I’m really happy to reach the final for the first time. It’s unbelievable. I like to play with these guys, and share the court with Jannik. I think he deserves a lot of (credit), he’s a great player and he did the job today.”

You might also like this

Brave Sinner saves three match points, stuns Djokovic to pull Italy level with Serbia in Davis Cup semis

tennis majors

Djokovic v Sinner: Match-up, stats, track record, everything you need to know – updated after 2024 Shanghai Masters final

tennis majors

Davis Cup: Kecmanovic puts Serbia into early semi-final lead v Italy, beats ailing Musetti

tennis majors