Australia will face Italy in the final of the Davis Cup tomorrow morning (AEDT) after the Italians rallied from a rubber down to defeat Serbia 2-1 on Sunday morning.
Jannik Sinner was the hero for the Italians – defeating Novak Djokovic for the second time in 12 days to keep the tie alive after Miomir Kecmanovic beat Lorenzo Musetti 6-7 (7), 6-2, 6-1 to give Serbia a 1-0 lead.
Djokovic had Serbia on the cusp of progressing to the final when up 5-4, 0-40 in the third and deciding set.
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But from there, Sinner rattled off five successive points to hold serve, before immediately breaking Djokovic in the next game – converting his only break point opportunity across the final two sets.
When Djokovic’s return sailed long on match point, it meant Sinner had won 13 of the final 16 points to claim an unlikely victory, 6-2, 2-6, 7-5.
The loss ended Djokovic’s streak of 21 straight wins in Davis Cup singles matches – his last loss coming when he retired against Juan Martin del Potro in Serbia’s 2011 semifinal defeat against Argentina.
Djokovic’s last loss in a completed singles match in the Davis Cup was in 2009.
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‘It was a roller coaster,” Sinner said after the match, which stretched for two-hours and 35 minutes.
“I was starting off really well. Second set he played much better than me. Third set I tried to serve really well, and also on match points down I served well.
“Happy to still be in the competition. We were one point away from being out.”
It was the third singles meeting between the Djokovic and Sinner in 12 days. Sinner beat Djokovic in the ATP Finals group stage last week before Djokovic beat Sinner in the final to earn a record-breaking seventh ATP Finals title.
Sinner then backed up his singles heroics to team up with Lorenzo Sonego in the doubles. They beat Djokovic and Kecmanovic 6-3, 6-4 to book their date with Australia.
Italy’s last final was in 1998, its only title in 1976. Australia last won in 2003.
In the first singles match, Musetti recovered from an early break to win a first-set tiebreaker. But Kecmanovic got stronger as the match went on and enjoyed a lopsided third set for his first win in three career meetings with Musetti.
In the second singles match, Sinner started strongly and won back-to-back breaks for a 4-1 lead in the first set. Djokovic then hit back by breaking Sinner twice in the second set to force a decider.
Sinner clinched the decisive point in doubles when he jammed Djokovic with a big serve that the Serb backhanded in the net.
During a tense moment in the doubles match, Djokovic gestured to the crowd with both hands as if asking for more when Italy’s fans were shouting and jeering him. On Thursday, after helping to beat Britain, Djokovic told a section of the British fans to “shut up” and “be quiet” as they began drumming during his on-court interview.
On Thursday, Djokovic became the outright most successful Serbian player when he beat Cameron Norrie for his 44th victory in the competition.