Jannik Sinner was dominant once again in guiding Italy to the Davis Cup title, as Italy swept Australia 2-0 in Sunday’s final in Malaga, Spain.
After Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi outlasted Alexei Popyrin 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 in the first singles match of the final, Sinner cruised past Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-0 to seal the championship.
Italy won its first Davis Cup since 1976 while extending Australia’s drought to 20 straight years.
Sinner completed a memorable week in which he defeated Serbia’s Novak Djokovic twice during Saturday’s semifinal showdown. Sinner beat Djokovic 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 in singles, then teamed up with Lorenzo Sonego to beat Djokovic and Miomir Kecmanovic in doubles, 6-3, 6-4.
On Sunday, Sinner served up five aces and saved the only break point he faced. He rendered de Minaur’s second serve toothless, as the Italian won 15 of 24 second-serve points.
In the first match, Arnaldi prevailed despite absorbing 12 aces from Popyrin. Arnaldi saved 12 of 16 break points and held serve throughout the third set before finally breaking Popyrin in the 10th and final game.
–Field Level Media